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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. drill — the tool
  6. shower — rain
  7. file — a line of people
  8. content — the amount
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. file — a document
  12. roll — a cake
  13. roll — a list
  14. charge — in control
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. charge — a price
  18. drill — a practice
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. file — a tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. content — happy
  23. charge — electricity
  24. pitcher — a jug

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