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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. land — ground
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wind — moving air
  13. net — after costs
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. branch — a division
  16. land — to come down
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. land — a country
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. net — for catching
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. hand — in cards
  24. net — in sport

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