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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 120 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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. rest — what's left
  3. branch — a division
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. chest — a box
  6. prune — to trim
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. prune — to trim
  10. net — in sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spring — of water
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. rest — what's left
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rest — a break
  20. chest — of your body
  21. net — after costs
  22. charge — a price
  23. net — for catching
  24. charge — electricity

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