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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. charge — electricity
  3. branch — a division
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. plane — a tool
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. charge — a price
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chest — of your body
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. stock — shares
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. stock — goods
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. wound — an injury
  22. perch — the fish
  23. chest — a box
  24. charge — in control

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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