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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mine — for digging
  3. branch — a division
  4. present — a gift
  5. mark — a grade
  6. key — the most important part
  7. land — to come down
  8. mark — a trace
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. last — to go on
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. last — finally
  19. deal — to handle
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. key — for a lock
  23. key — in music
  24. mine — belonging to me

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