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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. chest — of your body
  3. deal — to handle
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. branch — a division
  9. chest — of your body
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. hand — in cards
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chest — a box
  16. land — a country
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. land — to come down
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bound — certain
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. hand — help

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