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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. charge — a price
  3. spring — a coil
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — a division
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. spring — the season
  11. band — a ring
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bat — the animal
  16. charge — in control
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pitch — completely
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. spring — of water
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  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