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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rest — a break
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. charge — a price
  6. rule — government
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. field — for sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. charge — in control
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. mine — for digging
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chair — a leader
  15. charge — electricity
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. branch — a division

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