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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — in control
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bore — to tire
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bark — to shout
  9. spring — of water
  10. bore — to drill
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — for digging
  16. degree — an amount
  17. charge — a price
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. spring — the season

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