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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. file — a tool
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. degree — an amount
  7. ground — a position
  8. charge — a price
  9. charge — electricity
  10. ground — crushed
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bark — to shout
  13. object — an aim
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — a thing
  19. file — a document
  20. snap — to click
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. ground — the earth

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