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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. branch — a division
  3. net — after costs
  4. chip — for betting
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spell — magic
  7. chip — to eat
  8. scale — in music
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. spell — letters
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. rest — what's left
  16. net — in sport
  17. spell — a short time
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. scale — size or range
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. net — for catching
  23. rest — a break
  24. mine — for digging

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