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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. hand — help
  9. fine — high quality
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bat — the animal
  12. board — to get on
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. branch — a division
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wind — moving air
  22. board — a committee
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. branch — of a tree

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