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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: perch · patient · charge · lie · tear · content · press · band

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. charge — a price
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. charge — in control
  10. content — the amount
  11. press — newspapers
  12. band — a ring
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. tear — from crying
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. charge — electricity
  19. lie — to recline
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — to push
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. perch — the fish

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