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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 116 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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bass — low music
  6. branch — a division
  7. rash — a series
  8. land — ground
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. wake — a trail
  11. row — a line
  12. chip — to eat
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. land — to come down
  15. bass — the fish
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. land — a country
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. rash — hasty
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. fork — in a road

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