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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. tear — from crying
  11. charge — in control
  12. stock — goods
  13. chest — a box
  14. cap — a hat
  15. shower — rain
  16. charge — a price
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cap — a lid
  21. shower — to wash
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. stock — shares

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