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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. charge — electricity
  3. net — in sport
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. mug — a face
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bark — to shout
  11. net — for catching
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. pop — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. charge — in control
  16. mug — to rob
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — music
  19. mug — a cup
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. charge — a price
  23. net — after costs
  24. file — a tool

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