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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. land — ground
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. land — a country
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. race — humankind
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. cell — in biology
  10. branch — a division
  11. race — the arms race
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cell — a phone
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. track — a path
  19. race — a contest
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. land — to come down
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. track — to keep track
  24. cell — in a prison

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