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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 116 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. net — after costs
  4. land — a country
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. rest — what's left
  7. key — the most important part
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. land — ground
  11. key — for a lock
  12. band — a music group
  13. spring — the season
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. net — for catching
  18. branch — a division
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pound — a weight
  21. net — in sport
  22. key — in music
  23. rest — a break
  24. land — to come down

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