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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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Word bank
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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: firm · tear · wind · march · charge · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. charge — a price
  4. content — the amount
  5. wind — moving air
  6. march — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. firm — decided
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. firm — a company
  14. charge — electricity
  15. wind — moving air
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. charge — in control
  18. firm — steady

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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