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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: object · content · chest · game · cold · plane · charge · wound

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. chest — a box
  4. charge — electricity
  5. cold — an illness
  6. content — happy
  7. object — a thing
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. object — an aim
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. wound — an injury
  12. game — a match
  13. content — the amount
  14. wound — an injury
  15. charge — in control
  16. object — to protest
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. chest — of your body
  19. charge — a price
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cold — not warm

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