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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: staff · hand · bark · cold · rock · bowl · saw · charge

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. charge — electricity
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. staff — employees
  7. charge — in control
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. hand — help
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. hand — in cards
  14. staff — a stick
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rock — music
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. staff — employees

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