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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — a price
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. cold — an illness
  6. lean — thin
  7. march — the month
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. court — for sport
  11. march — the month
  12. cold — not warm
  13. court — of law
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. branch — a division
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. court — of a king
  20. lean — to bend
  21. march — music
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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