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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. charge — a price
  5. wax — to grow
  6. press — to push
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitch — completely
  9. saw — the tool
  10. press — a publisher
  11. tear — from crying
  12. charge — electricity
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. charge — in control
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. content — the amount
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. saw — the tool
  22. ball — a dance
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. press — newspapers

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