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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. row — a line
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rash — hasty
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. charge — in control
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. charge — a price
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. rash — a series
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. row — to paddle
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. content — happy
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. content — the amount
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rash — on the skin

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