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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. game — a match
  3. chest — of your body
  4. land — ground
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. fine — high quality
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. net — after costs
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. net — for catching
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. chest — a box
  13. land — to come down
  14. branch — a division
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. fine — all right
  21. land — a country
  22. chest — of your body
  23. game — wild animals
  24. net — in sport

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