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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: rock · land · leaves · last · bat · branch · file · jam

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. land — ground
  6. land — to come down
  7. last — to go on
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. last — final
  10. rock — music
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. file — a tool
  14. rock — a stone
  15. file — a document
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. last — finally
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. file — a line of people
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. land — a country

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