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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. rock — music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mug — a face
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — a division
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rock — a stone
  13. mug — a cup
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. row — to paddle
  19. prune — to trim
  20. row — a line
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pitch — completely
  23. mug — to rob
  24. branch — of a bank

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