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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. charge — a price
  3. spring — the season
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bark — to shout
  7. spring — of water
  8. chest — of your body
  9. charge — electricity
  10. spring — a coil
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. squash — the sport
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. chest — a box
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. stand — to bear
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. charge — in control
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. squash — the vegetable

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