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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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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: tear · content · bowl · season · firm · charge · last · hand

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. tear — from crying
  3. hand — in cards
  4. charge — a price
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. season — of the year
  7. firm — steady
  8. firm — decided
  9. last — finally
  10. last — to go on
  11. tear — to rip
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. hand — help
  15. season — in sport
  16. charge — electricity
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. tear — from crying
  19. content — the amount
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. charge — in control
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. last — final
  24. content — happy

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