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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. club — for golf
  3. file — a tool
  4. present — the time now
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. present — a gift
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. club — for dancing
  9. file — a line of people
  10. club — a group
  11. spring — a coil
  12. land — a country
  13. rule — a law
  14. branch — a division
  15. land — to come down
  16. file — a document
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. spring — the season
  19. land — ground
  20. spring — of water
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rule — government
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. present — there

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