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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 · land · squash · hand · roll · date · mark · arm

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. squash — to crush
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. hand — help
  5. roll — a cake
  6. date — the fruit
  7. land — to come down
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. mark — a grade
  11. squash — the sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. land — ground
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a trace
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. hand — in cards
  19. branch — a division
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. land — a country
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. roll — a list
  24. hand — part of the body

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