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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. court — of law
  4. content — happy
  5. staff — employees
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wax — to grow
  9. kid — child
  10. stock — shares
  11. content — the amount
  12. court — of a king
  13. staff — a stick
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. charge — in control
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. shower — to wash
  19. stock — goods
  20. shower — rain
  21. charge — a price
  22. kid — to tease
  23. court — for sport
  24. staff — employees

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