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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · calf · rule · chest · kid · charge

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. content — happy
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. charge — electricity
  8. rule — a law
  9. chest — of your body
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. chest — a box
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. charge — a price
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rule — government
  16. content — the amount
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. content — videos and posts

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