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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — a price
  3. perch — the fish
  4. charge — in control
  5. rule — a law
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cue — a signal
  8. ground — a position
  9. pop — soda
  10. ground — crushed
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cue — a hint
  16. ground — the earth
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. pop — to visit
  19. cue — for pool
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pop — music
  24. rule — government

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