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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. charge — in control
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. charge — electricity
  5. content — the amount
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — a stone
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. land — a country
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. file — a document
  12. land — ground
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. content — happy
  16. file — a tool
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. file — a line of people
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. charge — a price
  22. date — the fruit
  23. land — to come down
  24. date — on the calendar

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