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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: charge · mouse · content · ground · pitcher · tear · sharp · craft

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. tear — from crying
  3. charge — electricity
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. ground — a position
  7. content — happy
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. content — the amount
  11. tear — to rip
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. craft — boats
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. sharp — clever
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ground — crushed
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. charge — in control
  23. craft — a skill
  24. pitcher — a jug

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