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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. charge — a price
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — a gift
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. file — a document
  10. row — a line
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. file — a line of people
  13. charge — electricity
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. file — a tool
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. charge — in control
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. present — there

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