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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cell — a phone
  5. charge — electricity
  6. wind — moving air
  7. content — happy
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cell — in biology
  11. content — the amount
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fine — high quality
  14. present — there
  15. fine — all right
  16. charge — a price
  17. mate — to breed
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — a gift
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cell — in a prison

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