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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: date · racket · branch · land · season · row · ground · game

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. game — wild animals
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. land — to come down
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. ground — crushed
  7. season — of the year
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. season — in sport
  11. ground — a position
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. row — a line
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — the fruit
  17. branch — a division
  18. land — ground
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. ground — the earth
  23. branch — of a tree
  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