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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. bore — to tire
  3. charge — a price
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bore — to drill
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. charge — in control
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bear — the animal
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. charge — electricity
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to bend

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