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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — a price
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. file — a tool
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wound — an injury
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. wound — an injury
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rule — government
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rule — a law
  20. saw — the tool
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. charge — in control
  24. bark — to shout

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