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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cap — a lid
  3. charge — a price
  4. court — for sport
  5. file — a line of people
  6. charge — electricity
  7. court — of a king
  8. bark — to shout
  9. press — to push
  10. race — humankind
  11. press — a publisher
  12. cap — a hat
  13. file — a document
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. press — newspapers
  17. file — a tool
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — a trail
  20. court — of law
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. charge — in control

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