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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — certain
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wound — an injury
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bound — obliged
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. branch — a division
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. hand — help
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — of a bank

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