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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. deal — to handle
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. roll — a list
  7. track — a song
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. cell — a phone
  10. branch — a division
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. track — a path
  15. wound — an injury
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. chip — for betting
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — to eat
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. wound — an injury
  24. roll — a cake

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