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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. net — for catching
  4. file — a document
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. charge — a price
  8. file — a line of people
  9. net — in sport
  10. file — a tool
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. stock — shares
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. band — a music group
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. branch — a division
  17. band — a ring
  18. stock — goods
  19. bark — to shout
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. net — after costs
  24. charge — in control

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