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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: face · hand · content · file · perch · game · charge · mark

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. content — happy
  3. face — part of the head
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. file — a tool
  6. charge — electricity
  7. face — to confront
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. perch — the fish
  10. face — to point toward
  11. game — wild animals
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mark — a grade
  15. file — a document
  16. hand — help
  17. charge — in control
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. game — a match
  21. charge — a price
  22. file — a line of people
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. content — the amount

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