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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 · cold · swing · hand · rest · content · club · object

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. hand — in cards
  8. charge — in control
  9. charge — a price
  10. swing — to play on
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. object — a thing
  13. cold — not warm
  14. swing — music
  15. club — a group
  16. rest — what's left
  17. content — happy
  18. object — to protest
  19. content — the amount
  20. charge — electricity
  21. object — an aim
  22. swing — in golf
  23. hand — help
  24. cold — an illness

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