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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. charge — a price
  3. staff — employees
  4. face — to confront
  5. prune — to trim
  6. staff — employees
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bore — to drill
  13. stem — to come from
  14. prune — to trim
  15. branch — a division
  16. bore — to tire
  17. march — music
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. charge — in control
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. march — the month
  22. charge — electricity
  23. march — the month
  24. branch — of a bank

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