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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: jam · fall · last · land · branch · chest · bound · fine

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. bound — certain
  5. fine — all right
  6. fall — to drop
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. bound — obliged
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. land — to come down
  11. last — to go on
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. last — finally
  14. fine — high quality
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. land — a country
  17. branch — a division
  18. bound — tied together
  19. fall — the season
  20. land — ground
  21. fall — to drop
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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