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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mug · cold · pound · fork · bark · spring · club · charge

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. charge — a price
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. spring — of water
  6. pound — a weight
  7. spring — the season
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. club — a group
  11. mug — a cup
  12. charge — in control
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. charge — electricity
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. club — for golf
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mug — to rob
  21. club — for dancing
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fork — in a road
  24. pound — to hit hard

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