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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. track — a song
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. spell — letters
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. land — to come down
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. track — to keep track
  11. land — a country
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. track — a path
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. rule — government
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bat — the animal
  22. land — ground
  23. branch — a division
  24. racket — a loud noise

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