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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. saw — the tool
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. file — a line of people
  9. row — a line
  10. chip — for betting
  11. row — to paddle
  12. chip — to eat
  13. saw — the tool
  14. file — a tool
  15. charge — in control
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. charge — electricity
  18. charge — a price
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. content — the amount
  21. capital — a city
  22. file — a document
  23. content — happy
  24. capital — money

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