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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. current — of water
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rock — a stone
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. lean — to bend
  9. current — electric
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. charge — in control
  12. charge — electricity
  13. vault — a safe
  14. current — happening now
  15. row — a line
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. bark — to shout
  18. charge — a price
  19. row — to paddle
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. lean — thin
  24. rock — music

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