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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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. straw — a straw man
  4. pitch — completely
  5. spring — the season
  6. pound — a weight
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. spring — a coil
  9. content — the amount
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. spring — of water
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ground — a position
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. charge — in control
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. content — happy
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — crushed

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