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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. branch — a division
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. mine — for digging
  8. field — for sport
  9. can — to be able to
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. chip — for betting
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. land — to come down
  16. march — music
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. can — a tin
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. can — a tin
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. land — ground

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