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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. squash — to crush
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. saw — the tool
  6. squash — the sport
  7. land — ground
  8. content — the amount
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. saw — the tool
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mate — a friend
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. rule — government
  19. content — happy
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a partner
  22. rule — a law
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

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