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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. land — a country
  5. game — wild animals
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. net — after costs
  8. kid — child
  9. land — to come down
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. game — a match
  12. toast — bread
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. net — for catching
  18. kid — to tease
  19. land — ground
  20. net — in sport
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. branch — a division
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. toast — the most admired

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