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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. charge — in control
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. ground — a position
  9. land — to come down
  10. bore — to drill
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bore — to tire
  14. charge — a price
  15. clip — for paper
  16. branch — a division
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. land — ground
  22. sharp — clever
  23. land — a country
  24. charge — electricity

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