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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pound — a weight
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. land — a country
  9. chip — for betting
  10. march — the month
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. land — to come down
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. chip — to eat
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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