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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bound — tied together
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. court — of law
  7. charge — a price
  8. bound — obliged
  9. lean — thin
  10. march — the month
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bound — certain
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. march — the month
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. branch — a division
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — for sport
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. charge — in control
  22. bark — to shout
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. march — music

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