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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · toast · key · squash · branch · fan · hand · chest

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. hand — in cards
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. hand — help
  6. chest — of your body
  7. toast — bread
  8. land — to come down
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. land — ground
  11. chest — of your body
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. squash — the sport
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. branch — a division
  16. key — for a lock
  17. chest — a box
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. land — a country
  20. key — the most important part
  21. squash — to crush
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. key — in music
  24. fan — to cool the air

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