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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. scale — in music
  3. current — of water
  4. current — happening now
  5. rock — a stone
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. hand — in cards
  12. scale — size or range
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rush — hurry
  17. bound — tied together
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. branch — a division
  20. current — electric
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bound — certain
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rush — a thrill

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