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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. charge — a price
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. bear — the animal
  7. charge — in control
  8. snap — to click
  9. bear — the animal
  10. mine — for digging
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. bark — to shout
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. charge — electricity
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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