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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · charge · mate · content · fall · wound · cabinet · plane

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mate — to breed
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mate — a friend
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. charge — in control
  10. march — the month
  11. charge — a price
  12. fall — to drop
  13. content — the amount
  14. mate — a partner
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. fall — the season
  18. charge — electricity
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. plane — a tool
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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