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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: season · content · spring · bass · last · charge · swing · cell

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. charge — electricity
  3. spring — the season
  4. season — in sport
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. swing — music
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. swing — in golf
  9. spring — of water
  10. cell — in biology
  11. charge — in control
  12. last — to go on
  13. content — the amount
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bass — the fish
  16. spring — a coil
  17. content — happy
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bass — low music
  20. cell — a phone
  21. last — finally
  22. season — of the year
  23. charge — a price
  24. swing — to play on

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