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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: stand · wound · chest · land · bark · roll · branch · saw

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  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 — of a bank
  2. land — to come down
  3. stand — to bear
  4. wound — an injury
  5. land — ground
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. saw — the tool
  16. roll — a cake
  17. bark — to shout
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. branch — a division
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. roll — a list
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chest — of your body
  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