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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. charge — electricity
  5. row — a line
  6. charge — in control
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. branch — a division
  9. lean — to bend
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. pop — to visit
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. charge — a price
  15. dip — to sink
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rush — hurry
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pop — music
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. pop — soda
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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