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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. branch — a division
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bank — for money
  7. object — to protest
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. scale — in music
  11. bank — of a river
  12. object — an aim
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. scale — size or range
  17. drill — the tool
  18. object — a thing
  19. bank — for money
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bat — the animal
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. bat — in an idiom

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