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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: content · bound · shower · stick · fork · pop · rash · charge

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — rain
  5. charge — in control
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. pop — soda
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. charge — a price
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — obliged
  14. content — the amount
  15. charge — electricity
  16. rash — a series
  17. bound — certain
  18. pop — to visit
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. pop — music
  24. fork — in a road

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