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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. present — there
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bat — the animal
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. game — a match
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. present — a gift
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. present — the time now
  16. game — wild animals
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. stand — to bear
  20. dip — to sink
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. bat — in an idiom

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