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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. ball — a dance
  4. charge — a price
  5. present — a gift
  6. tear — from crying
  7. prune — to trim
  8. ball — a great time
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. capital — a city
  11. prune — to trim
  12. branch — a division
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. capital — money
  15. charge — electricity
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. charge — in control
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — there
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — low music

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