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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: snap · cap · tear · lie · fall · charge · last · content

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. charge — a price
  5. last — to go on
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. fall — the season
  8. charge — electricity
  9. tear — from crying
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. snap — to click
  12. tear — from crying
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cap — of ice
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. last — final
  19. fall — to drop
  20. content — happy
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. charge — in control
  23. tear — to rip
  24. content — the amount

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