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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. cold — an illness
  7. craft — boats
  8. charge — electricity
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. file — a tool
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. craft — a skill
  13. charge — in control
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. file — a line of people
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. degree — an amount
  20. file — a document
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pound — a weight

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