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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 120 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. lean — to bend
  3. chair — a leader
  4. face — to point toward
  5. pit — in a race
  6. lean — thin
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. field — farmland
  12. bark — to shout
  13. charge — a price
  14. face — to confront
  15. pit — a hole
  16. field — a subject
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — a hint
  19. charge — in control
  20. field — for sport
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. cue — for pool
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bark — of a tree

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