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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bark — to shout
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. rash — a series
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. rest — a break
  8. net — for catching
  9. charge — in control
  10. charge — electricity
  11. rest — what's left
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rash — hasty
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. shower — to wash
  19. ground — the earth
  20. shower — rain
  21. charge — a price
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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