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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 116 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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. drill — army training
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. drill — a practice
  5. charge — electricity
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. court — of a king
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. court — for sport
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — a price
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cold — an illness
  22. content — happy
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. content — the amount

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