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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. charge — in control
  6. file — a line of people
  7. can — to be able to
  8. charge — a price
  9. field — a subject
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. can — a tin
  12. current — happening now
  13. field — for sport
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. file — a document
  19. field — farmland
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. current — electric
  22. file — a tool
  23. current — of water
  24. charge — electricity

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