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

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. 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. bat — in an idiom
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. branch — a division
  14. kid — child
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. prune — to trim
  18. 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