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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. bound — obliged
  9. scale — size or range
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. wake — a trail
  12. tear — from crying
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. tear — from crying
  15. scale — in music
  16. bound — certain
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — an aim
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. object — a thing
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. branch — a division
  23. tear — to rip
  24. racket — for tennis

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