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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. branch — a division
  4. fine — all right
  5. kid — child
  6. pitch — completely
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. mate — to breed
  10. foot — a measure
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. saw — the tool
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. mate — a friend
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. fine — high quality
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. saw — the tool

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