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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. bass — low music
  4. rock — music
  5. fall — the season
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. cold — not warm
  8. present — there
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. rock — a stone
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. cold — an illness
  14. charge — in control
  15. bass — the fish
  16. fall — to drop
  17. present — a gift
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. branch — a division
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. charge — electricity
  22. fall — to drop
  23. land — a country
  24. present — the time now

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