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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. land — ground
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. swing — music
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. land — to come down
  9. board — a committee
  10. swing — to play on
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. roll — a cake
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bat — the animal
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. branch — a division
  20. kid — child
  21. land — a country
  22. roll — a list
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. swing — in golf

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