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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. kid — child
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bound — tied together
  6. mark — a grade
  7. net — after costs
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. branch — a division
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. mark — a trace
  14. charge — in control
  15. club — for dancing
  16. kid — to tease
  17. club — for golf
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. net — for catching
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. net — in sport
  23. charge — a price
  24. club — a group

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