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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. charge — in control
  3. charge — a price
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. field — for sport
  6. land — ground
  7. field — farmland
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bark — to shout
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. race — a contest
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. field — a subject
  15. race — humankind
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. charge — electricity
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — a cup
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. leaves — of a tree

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