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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: charge · ball · hand · fan · last · branch · track · face

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. charge — a price
  7. last — finally
  8. track — to keep track
  9. charge — electricity
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. track — a song
  12. branch — a division
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. ball — a dance
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. face — to confront
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — part of the head
  24. charge — in control

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