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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. land — a country
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. key — the most important part
  6. foot — a measure
  7. stock — goods
  8. shower — to wash
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. land — to come down
  11. kid — child
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. land — ground
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. shower — rain
  17. stock — shares
  18. sharp — clever
  19. key — in music
  20. key — for a lock
  21. kid — to tease
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. sharp — exactly

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