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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 116 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. bark — to shout
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. bound — obliged
  9. charge — a price
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. row — to paddle
  12. plane — a tool
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bound — certain
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bass — low music
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. spring — of water
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bound — tied together
  24. charge — in control

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