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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 116 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. pop — to visit
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. game — wild animals
  7. branch — a division
  8. land — to come down
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wound — an injury
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. stock — shares
  14. land — ground
  15. game — a match
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. last — finally
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — music
  21. pitch — completely
  22. stock — goods
  23. land — a country
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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