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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. spring — a coil
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. charge — in control
  5. field — for sport
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. charge — a price
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bark — to shout
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. spring — of water
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. spring — the season
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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