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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mine — for digging
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. degree — an amount
  11. hand — help
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rest — what's left
  14. swing — to play on
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. degree — temperature
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. chip — to eat
  20. hand — in cards
  21. branch — a division
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. chip — for betting

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