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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. saw — the tool
  3. spring — of water
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. content — happy
  6. charge — electricity
  7. shower — to wash
  8. can — to be able to
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. can — a tin
  11. date — the fruit
  12. can — a tin
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. shower — rain
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. charge — in control
  18. saw — the tool
  19. content — the amount
  20. court — of a king
  21. charge — a price
  22. court — of law
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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