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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. branch — a division
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. wind — moving air
  9. key — in music
  10. charge — in control
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. key — for a lock
  13. charge — a price
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rash — a series
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. key — the most important part
  20. charge — electricity
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. cold — not warm
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. pitch — completely

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