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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. ground — a position
  2. pop — to visit
  3. land — ground
  4. content — the amount
  5. pop — music
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pop — soda
  8. land — a country
  9. content — happy
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. net — after costs
  15. ground — the earth
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. land — to come down
  18. mine — for digging
  19. kick — in football
  20. branch — a division
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. content — videos and posts
  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