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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. drill — a practice
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — thin
  10. swing — music
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. shower — to wash
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bark — to shout
  18. charge — in control
  19. shower — rain
  20. swing — in golf
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. drill — the tool
  23. charge — electricity
  24. drill — army training

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