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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. pop — music
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. chest — a box
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. pop — to visit
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bass — low music
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. file — a document
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. charge — in control
  18. charge — a price
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. pop — soda
  22. bass — the fish
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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