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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. charge — in control
  3. charge — a price
  4. content — happy
  5. chest — a box
  6. charge — electricity
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. file — a tool
  11. race — a contest
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bore — to drill
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bore — to tire
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. file — a document
  18. chest — of your body
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. chest — of your body
  22. race — humankind
  23. file — a line of people
  24. content — the amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com