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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · cell · cabinet · tube · land · wake · branch · fork

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wake — a trail
  10. tube — a container
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. march — the month
  15. branch — a division
  16. cell — a phone
  17. march — music
  18. land — to come down
  19. tube — the underground
  20. land — ground
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. fork — in a road
  24. march — the month

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