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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mug — to rob
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. pop — to visit
  6. charge — in control
  7. stem — to come from
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pop — soda
  11. mug — a face
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pop — music
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. degree — temperature
  16. deal — to handle
  17. content — the amount
  18. charge — electricity
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. mug — a cup
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. chair — a leader
  23. charge — a price
  24. stem — of a plant

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