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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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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: content · charge · tear · press · straw · bore · march · snap

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. press — a publisher
  10. charge — in control
  11. press — newspapers
  12. content — the amount
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. tear — to rip
  15. march — the month
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — to tire
  18. charge — electricity
  19. snap — to click
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. charge — a price
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. press — to push

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