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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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Word bank
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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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. scale — for weighing
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. scale — size or range
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spring — the season
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rash — hasty
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. bark — to shout
  17. charge — in control
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. scale — in music
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. rash — a series
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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