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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. land — a country
  3. mate — to breed
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. season — of the year
  7. branch — a division
  8. season — in sport
  9. file — a tool
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. land — to come down
  16. wind — moving air
  17. field — farmland
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. field — a subject
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — a friend
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. field — for sport
  24. land — ground

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