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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: staff · cap · last · hand · roll · land · branch · stick

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. staff — employees
  3. last — finally
  4. land — to come down
  5. last — final
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. staff — a stick
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — a cake
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. cap — a lid
  14. last — to go on
  15. staff — employees
  16. branch — a division
  17. cap — of ice
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. cap — a hat
  23. land — a country
  24. roll — on a roll

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