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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. object — a thing
  3. pop — music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. charge — a price
  6. fall — to drop
  7. capital — a city
  8. fall — to drop
  9. shower — rain
  10. charge — electricity
  11. shower — to wash
  12. fall — the season
  13. object — to protest
  14. ground — crushed
  15. branch — a division
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. capital — money
  18. ground — a position
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. charge — in control
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — soda
  24. object — an aim

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