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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. band — a music group
  4. cap — a lid
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. ground — the earth
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. sharp — clever
  12. branch — a division
  13. land — to come down
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. cap — a hat
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — a position
  20. cap — of ice
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. band — a ring
  24. branch — of a bank

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