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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: cold · deal · charge · snap · file · mark · content · staff

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. charge — in control
  5. cold — not warm
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — a price
  8. mark — a trace
  9. snap — to click
  10. staff — employees
  11. deal — to handle
  12. staff — a stick
  13. content — happy
  14. file — a document
  15. staff — employees
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. cold — an illness
  22. file — a tool
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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