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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. chest — of your body
  6. roll — a list
  7. charge — a price
  8. roll — a cake
  9. charge — electricity
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. pop — soda
  18. chest — a box
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pop — music
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bark — to shout
  24. charge — in control

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