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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. charge — a price
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rock — a stone
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cell — a phone
  7. content — the amount
  8. cell — in biology
  9. land — a country
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. land — ground
  12. object — to protest
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. object — an aim
  15. land — to come down
  16. charge — electricity
  17. charge — in control
  18. object — a thing
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. staff — employees

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