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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bound — tied together
  4. degree — an amount
  5. rash — a series
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pop — to visit
  8. cap — of ice
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — soda
  11. bound — certain
  12. rash — hasty
  13. degree — temperature
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. bound — obliged
  17. cap — a lid
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. degree — from a university
  20. chest — of your body
  21. branch — a division
  22. cap — a hat
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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