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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. charge — a price
  3. staff — employees
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. plane — a tool
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. staff — a stick
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — final
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. charge — in control
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bat — the animal
  20. charge — electricity
  21. staff — employees
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. cold — not warm
  24. branch — a division

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