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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 · wave · land · leaves · tear · cold · branch · mine

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. charge — in control
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mine — for digging
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. land — to come down
  9. charge — a price
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. cold — an illness
  17. charge — electricity
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. land — a country
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. land — ground
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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