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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. bass — low music
  3. club — for dancing
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. club — for golf
  10. charge — a price
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. club — a group
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. fall — the season
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. band — a music group
  20. fall — to drop
  21. charge — in control
  22. stock — shares
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bass — the fish

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