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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. land — to come down
  3. bound — obliged
  4. roll — a cake
  5. craft — boats
  6. land — a country
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. craft — a skill
  11. chest — a box
  12. bound — certain
  13. branch — a division
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. land — ground
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. roll — a list
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bound — tied together
  24. roll — on a roll

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