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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. charge — electricity
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. clip — to cut
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — a price
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. rash — hasty
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. ground — a position
  13. branch — a division
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ground — the earth
  20. clip — a video
  21. rash — a series
  22. ground — crushed
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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