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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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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: snap · land · cell · mine · fall · bowl · fork · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. snap — to click
  3. land — a country
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. fall — the season
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. branch — a division
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fall — to drop
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. land — to come down
  14. fork — in a road
  15. land — ground
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. mine — for digging
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. cell — a phone
  24. fall — to drop

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