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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hand — in cards
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — a division
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. foot — a measure
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. cold — an illness
  14. present — the time now
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. fork — in a road
  17. present — there
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. present — a gift
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. hand — help

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