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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. land — to come down
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. land — ground
  8. scale — in music
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. scale — size or range
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. land — a country
  13. last — to go on
  14. board — to get on
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. hand — in cards
  18. branch — a division
  19. last — finally
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. last — final
  23. board — a committee
  24. scale — for weighing

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