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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bank — for money
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. land — to come down
  8. bank — of a river
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. capital — money
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a hint
  13. branch — a division
  14. cue — a signal
  15. bank — for money
  16. capital — a city
  17. degree — from a university
  18. land — ground
  19. land — a country
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. degree — temperature
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. game — a match

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