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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. charge — a price
  3. track — a song
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. track — to keep track
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — in a road
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. prune — to trim
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. charge — electricity
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pass — a permit
  19. charge — in control
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — to confront
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. last — final
  24. face — part of the head

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