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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mug — a face
  4. bat — the animal
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. charge — electricity
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mug — a cup
  13. mug — to rob
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bark — to shout
  17. shower — rain
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. charge — in control
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. kick — in football

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