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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. charge — electricity
  4. charge — a price
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rash — a series
  7. content — happy
  8. rash — hasty
  9. swing — to play on
  10. plane — a tool
  11. swing — in golf
  12. staff — a stick
  13. file — a document
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. staff — employees
  16. content — the amount
  17. file — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. swing — music
  21. file — a line of people
  22. charge — in control
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. plane — an aircraft

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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