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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 116 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. charge — electricity
  6. ball — a dance
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. deal — to handle
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. hand — help
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. charge — a price
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bat — the animal
  22. charge — in control
  23. branch — a division
  24. deal — an agreement

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