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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. chest — of your body
  4. branch — a division
  5. rest — a break
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. rest — what's left
  8. season — of the year
  9. stock — shares
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a path
  13. land — ground
  14. bank — for money
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. land — a country
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bank — for money
  23. season — in sport
  24. track — a song

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