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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 116 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. charge — a price
  4. tear — from crying
  5. net — in sport
  6. fine — all right
  7. charge — electricity
  8. tear — to rip
  9. net — after costs
  10. charge — in control
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. capital — a city
  13. chair — a leader
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. tear — from crying
  17. prune — to trim
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — happy
  20. fine — high quality
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. net — for catching
  24. fine — a penalty

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