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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. charge — in control
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. content — happy
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. drill — the tool
  11. court — of law
  12. charge — a price
  13. drill — a practice
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. drill — army training
  21. rash — hasty
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. rash — a series
  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