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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. charge — a price
  3. squash — to crush
  4. mate — a friend
  5. squash — the sport
  6. file — a line of people
  7. mate — a partner
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. bark — to shout
  11. mate — to breed
  12. charge — in control
  13. spell — a short time
  14. file — a tool
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. spell — letters
  17. branch — a division
  18. charge — electricity
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. spell — magic
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. file — a document

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