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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. dip — to sink
  3. branch — a division
  4. prune — to trim
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. land — ground
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. degree — an amount
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. board — to get on
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — temperature
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. board — a committee
  18. degree — from a university
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wound — an injury
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. prune — to trim
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. land — to come down

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