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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. chip — to eat
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. spring — the season
  5. track — to keep track
  6. dip — to sink
  7. file — a tool
  8. branch — a division
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. cap — a lid
  11. wake — a trail
  12. track — a song
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. spring — of water
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. file — a line of people
  20. track — a path
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. file — a document
  23. spring — a coil
  24. chip — for betting

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