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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. lean — to bend
  3. march — the month
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. charge — a price
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. game — wild animals
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. branch — a division
  12. lean — thin
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. object — a thing
  15. charge — in control
  16. march — music
  17. object — to protest
  18. chair — a leader
  19. drill — a practice
  20. charge — electricity
  21. march — the month
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — a match

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