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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mine · bat · land · branch · arm · cap · content · fine

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. mine — for digging
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. branch — a division
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bat — the animal
  10. land — ground
  11. content — happy
  12. cap — a hat
  13. fine — all right
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. land — a country
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cap — of ice
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. content — the amount
  23. fine — high quality
  24. branch — of a tree

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