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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. track — a song
  4. kid — child
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. charge — in control
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. content — the amount
  11. kid — to tease
  12. track — to keep track
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. clip — for paper
  15. charge — a price
  16. track — a path
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

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