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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 120 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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. pop — music
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pop — soda
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chest — a box
  7. current — of water
  8. current — electric
  9. capital — a city
  10. rule — government
  11. charge — a price
  12. content — happy
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. capital — money
  16. charge — in control
  17. content — the amount
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. current — happening now
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. cell — in biology
  23. rule — a law
  24. pop — to visit

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