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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. row — a line
  3. row — to paddle
  4. clip — a video
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bank — for money
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. branch — a division
  14. bank — for money
  15. track — a path
  16. bank — of a river
  17. track — to keep track
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. chest — of your body
  20. clip — to cut
  21. plane — a tool
  22. land — a country
  23. track — a song
  24. land — to come down

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