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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. game — a match
  8. bound — tied together
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bound — certain
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. branch — a division
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bass — the fish
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bass — low music
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bat — for baseball

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