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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 116 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. spring — the season
  4. charge — in control
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. branch — a division
  9. charge — electricity
  10. spring — of water
  11. net — for catching
  12. game — wild animals
  13. fork — in a road
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. net — in sport
  19. spring — a coil
  20. game — a match
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. net — after costs

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