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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. field — farmland
  4. last — to go on
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. last — finally
  8. field — for sport
  9. branch — a division
  10. bark — to shout
  11. last — final
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. field — a subject
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. land — ground
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. land — to come down
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. land — a country

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