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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. land — ground
  3. branch — a division
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. club — for golf
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. current — happening now
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. club — for dancing
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. current — electric
  17. rule — government
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. club — a group
  21. land — to come down
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. land — a country
  24. current — of water

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