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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. can — a tin
  3. charge — electricity
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. stand — to bear
  6. degree — temperature
  7. charge — in control
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. charge — a price
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. can — a tin
  16. bark — to shout
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. content — happy
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. content — the amount
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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