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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 120 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: pound · land · mine · game · root · sharp · branch · scale

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. root — of a plant
  6. scale — in music
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pound — a weight
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. land — a country
  14. root — of a word
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. game — wild animals
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. root — the cause
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. scale — size or range

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