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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bat — the animal
  6. last — final
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. foot — a measure
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. branch — a division
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. last — finally
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. mine — for digging
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kid — child
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. kid — to tease
  24. last — to go on

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