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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. cold — not warm
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. charge — electricity
  10. chest — a box
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. mark — a trace
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. charge — in control
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. mark — a grade
  18. charge — a price
  19. toast — bread
  20. chest — of your body
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. cold — an illness

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