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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. dip — to sink
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. land — a country
  8. bear — the animal
  9. land — ground
  10. spell — letters
  11. staff — employees
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. staff — a stick
  15. row — a line
  16. spell — magic
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. staff — employees
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. branch — a division
  24. spell — a short time

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