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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. sharp — clever
  3. current — electric
  4. can — a tin
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. can — a tin
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. current — of water
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. branch — a division
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. fork — in a road
  16. current — happening now
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. land — a country
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. can — to be able to
  24. land — ground

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