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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bound — tied together
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. row — a line
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. rest — a break
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bound — obliged
  9. land — a country
  10. bound — certain
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. land — ground
  16. rest — what's left
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. land — to come down
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. rest — what's left

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