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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. net — in sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. net — for catching
  6. game — a match
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. branch — a division
  12. game — wild animals
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wound — an injury
  15. charge — a price
  16. court — of law
  17. staff — employees
  18. court — of a king
  19. charge — in control
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. court — for sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. staff — employees
  24. net — after costs

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