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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. game — a match
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. land — ground
  11. cap — a hat
  12. branch — a division
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. tear — to rip
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. tear — from crying
  20. game — wild animals
  21. land — a country
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. tear — from crying
  24. branch — of a tree

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