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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. content — the amount
  3. spell — magic
  4. content — happy
  5. rash — hasty
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — in control
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hand — in cards
  14. tube — a container
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. rash — a series
  17. band — a music group
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. charge — a price
  22. hand — help
  23. band — a ring
  24. tube — in a tire

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