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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. branch — a division
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. march — the month
  8. land — a country
  9. march — the month
  10. squash — to crush
  11. pit — in a race
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stem — to come from
  14. date — the fruit
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. squash — the sport
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pit — a hole
  23. march — music
  24. land — to come down

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