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

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. charge — in control
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. charge — a price
  5. content — the amount
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. staff — a stick
  11. bark — to shout
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. face — to confront
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — a division
  17. staff — employees
  18. charge — electricity
  19. face — part of the head
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. face — to point toward
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. content — happy

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