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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. land — to come down
  5. cell — a phone
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. land — a country
  8. charge — electricity
  9. land — ground
  10. fine — high quality
  11. capital — a city
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cell — in biology
  14. band — a music group
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. charge — a price
  18. branch — a division
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. capital — money
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. charge — in control
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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