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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mug — a cup
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — a division
  6. mug — to rob
  7. clip — to cut
  8. board — a committee
  9. track — to keep track
  10. clip — a video
  11. hand — help
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. track — a song
  16. hand — in cards
  17. board — to get on
  18. land — to come down
  19. mug — a face
  20. track — a path
  21. clip — for paper
  22. fall — to drop
  23. land — ground
  24. branch — of a tree

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