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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. present — there
  6. bark — to shout
  7. stem — to come from
  8. ball — a great time
  9. cold — not warm
  10. charge — in control
  11. charge — a price
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. lie — to recline
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bass — the fish
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. present — a gift
  19. bass — low music
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. ball — a dance
  24. present — the time now

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