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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. file — a document
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pound — a weight
  10. row — a line
  11. pop — soda
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. file — a tool
  16. date — the fruit
  17. row — to paddle
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pop — to visit
  22. file — a line of people
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. pop — music

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