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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. ground — a position
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. swing — to play on
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. ground — the earth
  8. file — a line of people
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. kick — in football
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. ground — crushed
  15. swing — music
  16. file — a tool
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. land — ground
  19. fine — high quality
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. swing — in golf
  23. file — a document
  24. branch — of a bank

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