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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 116 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: charge · cell · track · spring · trunk · content · hand · ruler

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. charge — in control
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cell — a phone
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. content — the amount
  11. charge — electricity
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. charge — a price
  14. spring — a coil
  15. hand — in cards
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. track — a path
  18. cell — in biology
  19. track — a song
  20. spring — of water
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. spring — the season
  23. hand — help
  24. ruler — for measuring

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