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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. drill — a practice
  3. charge — electricity
  4. content — the amount
  5. drill — army training
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bark — to shout
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. land — to come down
  16. fall — the season
  17. charge — in control
  18. charge — a price
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. date — the fruit

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