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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bark — to shout
  3. last — final
  4. content — happy
  5. last — finally
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wound — an injury
  8. charge — in control
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. charge — electricity
  12. object — an aim
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. last — to go on
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wound — an injury
  17. object — to protest
  18. charge — a price
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. content — the amount
  23. object — a thing
  24. content — videos and posts

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