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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. cell — a phone
  5. charge — in control
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. prune — to trim
  8. vault — a safe
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. march — music
  11. cell — in biology
  12. season — of the year
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — a committee
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. prune — to trim
  17. board — to get on
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. content — the amount
  22. season — in sport
  23. charge — a price
  24. charge — electricity

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