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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. hand — help
  7. rock — music
  8. toast — bread
  9. scale — in music
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. branch — a division
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rule — government
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. hand — in cards
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. rule — a law
  19. scale — size or range
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. rock — a stone
  24. branch — of a tree

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