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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. content — happy
  4. spring — the season
  5. charge — electricity
  6. field — a subject
  7. tear — to rip
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. spring — a coil
  10. charge — in control
  11. wake — a trail
  12. field — for sport
  13. charge — a price
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. rush — hurry
  16. spring — of water
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — thin
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. field — farmland
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rush — a thrill

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