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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. branch — a division
  6. spring — of water
  7. bank — for money
  8. land — ground
  9. hand — help
  10. cap — of ice
  11. kick — in football
  12. spring — the season
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. perch — the fish
  15. cap — a lid
  16. hand — in cards
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bank — for money
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. hand — part of the body

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