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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. land — to come down
  3. ball — a dance
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. wind — moving air
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. land — ground
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. land — a country
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. branch — a division
  22. ball — a great time
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. mouse — the animal

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