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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 120 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 · mine · content · stand · court · stock · fork · tube

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. court — of law
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. mine — for digging
  11. charge — electricity
  12. court — for sport
  13. tube — the underground
  14. stand — to bear
  15. charge — in control
  16. fork — in a road
  17. court — of a king
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. tube — a container
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. charge — a price
  23. stock — shares
  24. fork — to eat with

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