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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. charge — electricity
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — to visit
  5. ground — a position
  6. rash — hasty
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. rash — a series
  9. pop — music
  10. charge — in control
  11. ground — the earth
  12. charge — a price
  13. branch — a division
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. ground — crushed
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. row — to paddle
  22. capital — money
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. rash — on the skin

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