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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. last — final
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. land — a country
  8. deal — to handle
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. prune — to trim
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. object — a thing
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. object — an aim
  18. land — ground
  19. prune — to trim
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. object — to protest
  22. last — to go on
  23. rash — a series
  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