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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. field — a subject
  3. rule — a law
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. charge — a price
  6. rule — government
  7. chair — a leader
  8. rock — a stone
  9. charge — electricity
  10. rock — music
  11. tear — to rip
  12. branch — a division
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. charge — in control
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. tear — from crying
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. field — farmland
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. field — for sport
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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