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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. drill — the tool
  6. pop — soda
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pop — to visit
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pop — music
  11. staff — a stick
  12. wake — a trail
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. branch — a division
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. land — a country
  18. drill — a practice
  19. land — to come down
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. staff — employees
  22. rush — hurry
  23. drill — army training
  24. staff — employees

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