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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. land — a country
  5. file — a tool
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. present — there
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. file — a document
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. branch — a division
  18. land — to come down
  19. stand — to bear
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bat — the animal
  24. coach — a trainer

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