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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: mate · charge · net · chair · root · face · branch · bound

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mate — a friend
  3. net — in sport
  4. charge — a price
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bound — obliged
  7. net — after costs
  8. mate — a partner
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — the cause
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. net — for catching
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. branch — a division
  16. root — of a word
  17. charge — in control
  18. mate — to breed
  19. chair — a leader
  20. charge — electricity
  21. face — part of the head
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. face — to point toward

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