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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. branch — a division
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. kid — child
  8. charge — a price
  9. club — for dancing
  10. season — in sport
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. charge — in control
  14. kid — to tease
  15. season — of the year
  16. file — a tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. club — for golf
  21. file — a line of people
  22. kick — in football
  23. charge — electricity
  24. file — a document

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