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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bear — the animal
  4. land — a country
  5. club — for golf
  6. scale — size or range
  7. club — for dancing
  8. mate — to breed
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mate — a partner
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bear — the animal
  17. land — to come down
  18. branch — a division
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a music group
  21. club — a group
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. chest — a box

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