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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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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: land · lean · branch · deal · wind · object · race · mine

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. branch — a division
  6. race — a contest
  7. mine — for digging
  8. land — a country
  9. object — an aim
  10. race — humankind
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. object — to protest
  14. object — a thing
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. deal — to handle
  20. race — the arms race
  21. land — ground
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to bend
  24. land — to come down

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