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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. charge — in control
  3. mark — a trace
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. staff — employees
  8. content — happy
  9. season — of the year
  10. dip — to sink
  11. charge — a price
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. season — in sport
  14. mine — for digging
  15. charge — electricity
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. content — the amount
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. staff — employees
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a grade
  23. staff — a stick
  24. capital — a city

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