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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: court · prune · kid · content · lash · charge · key · cold

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. prune — to trim
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. cold — an illness
  9. charge — electricity
  10. key — for a lock
  11. cold — not warm
  12. kid — child
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — in control
  19. key — the most important part
  20. court — for sport
  21. prune — to trim
  22. kid — to tease
  23. key — in music
  24. content — happy

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