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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 120 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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. season — of the year
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. land — ground
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. key — for a lock
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. stem — to come from
  12. land — a country
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. land — to come down
  15. bound — obliged
  16. season — in sport
  17. bound — tied together
  18. key — in music
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bound — certain
  21. mine — for digging
  22. branch — a division
  23. fine — high quality
  24. key — the most important part

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