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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bear — the animal
  5. branch — a division
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bark — to shout
  16. rash — a series
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. hand — help
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bass — low music
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bear — 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