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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. branch — a division
  3. suit — to fit
  4. charge — a price
  5. suit — in cards
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. court — for sport
  8. land — to come down
  9. charge — electricity
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. suit — clothes
  13. game — a match
  14. charge — in control
  15. court — of law
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. court — of a king
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. game — wild animals
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. game — a kind of play

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