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

Word bank: branch · tube · coach · rule · ground · racket · land · bat

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  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 — a division
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. ground — the earth
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. ground — a position
  8. bat — the animal
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. ground — crushed
  11. tube — the underground
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rule — government
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. land — to come down
  16. rule — a law
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. land — a country
  21. tube — a container
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. branch — of a tree
  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