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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. branch — a division
  3. land — to come down
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. swing — to play on
  6. squash — to crush
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. fine — high quality
  9. land — ground
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. land — a country
  12. last — final
  13. swing — in golf
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. last — finally
  17. last — to go on
  18. fine — all right
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. squash — the sport
  22. swing — music
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bowl — a football final

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