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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: rock · charge · content · cap · fan · cold · bear · lash

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cold — not warm
  3. charge — in control
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. charge — a price
  7. rock — music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. content — happy
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. content — the amount
  13. cap — a hat
  14. rock — a stone
  15. cap — of ice
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bear — the animal
  19. charge — electricity
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cap — a lid
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. cold — the Cold War

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