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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. toast — bread
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. charge — in control
  8. ground — crushed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. ground — a position
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. roll — a list
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. ground — the earth
  17. mate — to breed
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. charge — a price
  20. bark — to shout
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. mate — a friend
  24. roll — a cake

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