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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — to protest
  3. content — happy
  4. charge — electricity
  5. row — a line
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. object — a thing
  9. stem — to come from
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. charge — in control
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. row — to paddle
  15. content — the amount
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. charge — a price
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pound — a weight
  22. rash — hasty
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. rash — a series

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