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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. ground — a position
  3. bound — obliged
  4. ground — crushed
  5. last — finally
  6. game — a match
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. season — in sport
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. charge — in control
  12. rule — a law
  13. branch — a division
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. season — of the year
  17. charge — electricity
  18. last — to go on
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rule — government
  21. last — final
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — certain
  24. season — to add flavour

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