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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. rush — hurry
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a tool
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. charge — a price
  7. pound — a weight
  8. file — a document
  9. march — the month
  10. tear — to rip
  11. march — the month
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. charge — in control
  16. tear — from crying
  17. march — music
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mouse — the animal

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