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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. charge — electricity
  3. game — a match
  4. object — to protest
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mate — a friend
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bore — to tire
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. charge — a price
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. charge — in control
  14. shower — rain
  15. mate — a partner
  16. object — a thing
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bore — to drill
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. game — a kind of play

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