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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 120 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. net — after costs
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. land — a country
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. drill — army training
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. land — to come down
  10. branch — a division
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. drill — a practice
  13. wound — an injury
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. drill — the tool
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. wound — an injury
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. leaves — 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