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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. file — a line of people
  7. charge — in control
  8. charge — a price
  9. charge — electricity
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. branch — a division
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. kid — to tease
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. land — to come down
  20. file — a document
  21. kid — child
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. file — a tool

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