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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. vault — a safe
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. land — a country
  5. band — a music group
  6. club — for dancing
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. branch — a division
  10. club — a group
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. land — ground
  13. drill — the tool
  14. band — a ring
  15. drill — army training
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. chest — a box
  18. drill — a practice
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. land — to come down
  21. stem — to come from
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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