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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: swing · shower · charge · stock · toast · content · bound · bat

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. swing — to play on
  3. toast — bread
  4. charge — a price
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bound — certain
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bound — obliged
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. content — happy
  13. swing — in golf
  14. shower — rain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. swing — music
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. stock — shares
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. stock — goods
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. charge — in control
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. shower — to wash

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