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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 120 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. branch — a division
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. game — a match
  6. land — a country
  7. perch — the fish
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. land — ground
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. board — a committee
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. land — to come down
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. mine — for digging
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. board — to get on
  23. straw — dry grass
  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