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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cold — not warm
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ground — the earth
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. cold — an illness
  10. track — to keep track
  11. charge — electricity
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. charge — in control
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. branch — a division
  17. ground — a position
  18. track — a path
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. track — a song
  21. ground — crushed
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. charge — a price

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