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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. branch — a division
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. suit — clothes
  5. suit — in cards
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bound — obliged
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. suit — to fit
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. land — ground
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. land — to come down
  17. field — farmland
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. land — a country

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