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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. branch — a division
  3. shower — to wash
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. cap — of ice
  7. rush — hurry
  8. shower — rain
  9. degree — an amount
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for golf
  12. net — after costs
  13. cap — a lid
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. charge — in control
  16. charge — a price
  17. cap — a hat
  18. club — for dancing
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. degree — from a university
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. degree — temperature

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