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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  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. nail — for a hammer
  2. branch — a division
  3. ball — a dance
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. ground — the earth
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. land — ground
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. ball — a great time
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. ground — a position
  21. chest — a box
  22. ground — crushed
  23. date — the fruit
  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