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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: branch · staff · mate · rash · cell · charge · cold · face

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. staff — a stick
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. charge — a price
  6. branch — a division
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cell — in biology
  9. face — to confront
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. staff — employees
  12. face — part of the head
  13. charge — in control
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. face — to point toward
  16. rash — a series
  17. mate — to breed
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rash — hasty
  20. charge — electricity
  21. staff — employees
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cell — a phone
  24. mate — a partner

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