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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: cold · fan · object · safe · tube · land · bound · branch

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. branch — a division
  4. bound — tied together
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. land — ground
  7. bound — obliged
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. bound — certain
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. object — to protest
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. object — a thing
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. tube — the underground
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. object — an aim
  24. cold — not warm

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