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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mug — to rob
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mug — a cup
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. mug — a face
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. branch — a division
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. row — to paddle
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. row — a line
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — a safe
  24. mine — for digging

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