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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. squash — the sport
  3. branch — a division
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bass — the fish
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bank — for money
  9. lean — to bend
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — thin
  14. bank — for money
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bass — low music
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bank — of a river
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — on the skin

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