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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. charge — a price
  3. pit — a hole
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. file — a document
  6. branch — a division
  7. chest — a box
  8. file — a tool
  9. foot — a measure
  10. charge — in control
  11. band — a music group
  12. file — a line of people
  13. chest — of your body
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a ring
  17. rock — a stone
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. charge — electricity
  20. chest — of your body
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. branch — of a bank

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