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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  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. land — ground
  2. pop — music
  3. land — to come down
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. swing — in golf
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. fork — in a road
  9. branch — a division
  10. chip — to eat
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. swing — to play on
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. pop — to visit
  15. shower — rain
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. shower — to wash
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. chair — a leader
  20. swing — music
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. chip — for betting
  23. pop — soda
  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