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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bark — to shout
  4. dip — to sink
  5. court — for sport
  6. charge — a price
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. drill — army training
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. drill — the tool
  13. clip — a video
  14. drill — a practice
  15. clip — for paper
  16. court — of law
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chest — a box
  19. clip — to cut
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cold — not warm
  22. charge — electricity
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. court — of a king

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