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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. tube — the underground
  3. kick — in football
  4. charge — a price
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a dance
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. content — the amount
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. face — to point toward
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. tube — a container
  16. ball — a great time
  17. land — a country
  18. content — happy
  19. land — to come down
  20. face — part of the head
  21. land — ground
  22. charge — in control
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. face — to confront

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