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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. game — wild animals
  3. charge — a price
  4. chest — a box
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. current — electric
  7. current — happening now
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. game — a match
  11. charge — in control
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. lie — to recline
  18. charge — electricity
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chest — of your body
  23. current — of water
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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