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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. charge — a price
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. field — farmland
  9. content — the amount
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. field — for sport
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — electricity
  23. field — a subject
  24. coach — a trainer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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