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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: land · kid · cabinet · chip · branch · rock · cold · field

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  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 tree
  2. chip — to eat
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. land — to come down
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. field — for sport
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rock — a stone
  13. land — ground
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. branch — a division
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. rock — music
  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