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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: game · charge · pop · cap · content · row · wound · chair

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. charge — in control
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. charge — electricity
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pop — music
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. pop — to visit
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. charge — a price
  14. chair — a leader
  15. cap — a hat
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cap — a lid
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pop — soda
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cap — of ice
  24. game — a match

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