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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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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: rush · content · arm · cell · bear · charge · kick · object

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. rush — hurry
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. content — the amount
  6. bear — the animal
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. object — an aim
  9. cell — in biology
  10. object — a thing
  11. cell — a phone
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. charge — in control
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. kick — in football
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. charge — electricity
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. object — to protest
  23. charge — a price
  24. rush — a thrill

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