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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. charge — in control
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. fine — all right
  6. kick — in football
  7. chest — of your body
  8. date — the fruit
  9. fine — high quality
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. charge — electricity
  17. capital — money
  18. branch — a division
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. charge — a price
  22. bass — the fish
  23. chest — a box
  24. bass — the instrument

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