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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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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: branch · coach · rest · ground · cell · clip · sharp · land

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. land — ground
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cell — a phone
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. sharp — clever
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. ground — the earth
  18. clip — to cut
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. land — a country
  21. clip — for paper
  22. land — to come down
  23. rest — a break
  24. clip — a video

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