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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.

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: craft · ball · content · cold · press · charge · board · wound

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. cold — an illness
  3. charge — electricity
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. content — happy
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. charge — in control
  8. board — a committee
  9. craft — boats
  10. cold — not warm
  11. board — to get on
  12. craft — a skill
  13. press — to push
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. charge — a price
  16. press — newspapers
  17. ball — a great time
  18. content — the amount
  19. press — a publisher
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ball — a dance
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wound — an injury

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