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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. spell — letters
  3. charge — electricity
  4. cap — a hat
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. cap — of ice
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. spell — magic
  12. bark — to shout
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. hand — help
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. spell — a short time
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. charge — a price
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cap — a lid
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

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