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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. net — after costs
  3. branch — a division
  4. squash — the sport
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. kid — child
  13. squash — to crush
  14. land — ground
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. net — in sport
  18. kid — to tease
  19. net — for catching
  20. land — to come down
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. wax — in the ear

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