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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 116 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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. land — a country
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. rest — a break
  6. land — to come down
  7. suit — in cards
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. band — a ring
  13. suit — to fit
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rest — what's left
  17. suit — clothes
  18. band — a music group
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rest — what's left
  24. branch — a division

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