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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 120 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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. kid — to tease
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. wake — a trail
  8. present — a gift
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. present — there
  11. charge — in control
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. lean — to bend
  14. branch — a division
  15. lean — thin
  16. capital — money
  17. kid — child
  18. present — the time now
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. capital — a city
  22. charge — a price
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. wake — before a funeral

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