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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. spring — of water
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. land — ground
  7. fine — all right
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. spring — a coil
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. spring — the season
  14. shower — rain
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. branch — a division
  18. shower — to wash
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. land — to come down
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. fine — high quality
  24. rush — hurry

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