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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 · land · content · last · cue · swing · ball · nail

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a great time
  3. cue — a hint
  4. land — a country
  5. last — to go on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. cue — a signal
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. land — to come down
  13. charge — electricity
  14. last — finally
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. swing — music
  17. land — ground
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. charge — in control
  20. swing — to play on
  21. last — final
  22. charge — a price
  23. cue — for pool
  24. nail — on a finger

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