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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. branch — a division
  3. land — a country
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. object — to protest
  6. mine — for digging
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. land — to come down
  9. wind — moving air
  10. current — happening now
  11. land — ground
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. ball — a great time
  14. current — of water
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ball — a dance
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. object — an aim
  22. current — electric
  23. object — a thing
  24. ball — a round shape

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