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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: perch · charge · ball · content · snap · wind · tube · mark

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. charge — electricity
  4. charge — a price
  5. wind — moving air
  6. charge — in control
  7. mark — a trace
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. tube — the underground
  12. content — happy
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. content — the amount
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to click
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. tube — a container
  19. mark — a grade
  20. ball — a dance
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. wind — moving air

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