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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bank — of a river
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — a division
  6. bank — for money
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cap — of ice
  15. rash — a series
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. bank — for money
  18. saw — past of 'see'

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