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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. land — ground
  2. season — of the year
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. present — there
  5. mine — for digging
  6. present — the time now
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. land — to come down
  9. kick — in football
  10. present — a gift
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bark — to shout
  15. branch — a division
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. season — in sport
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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