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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 120 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. present — there
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. kid — child
  8. pop — to visit
  9. content — the amount
  10. fall — to drop
  11. content — happy
  12. bark — to shout
  13. kid — to tease
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. scale — in music
  18. pop — music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. charge — a price
  21. scale — size or range
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. charge — electricity
  24. pop — soda

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