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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. kid — child
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bank — for money
  14. branch — a division
  15. bat — the animal
  16. season — in sport
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fine — all right
  21. bank — of a river
  22. wound — an injury
  23. season — of the year
  24. bank — for money

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