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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. track — a path
  3. sharp — clever
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bat — the animal
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. track — a song
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. fall — to drop
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pass — a permit
  18. track — to keep track
  19. saw — the tool
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. fall — the season
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. fall — to drop
  24. saw — the tool

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