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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. object — to protest
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bat — the animal
  10. branch — a division
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. object — an aim
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. mine — for digging
  16. object — a thing
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. date — the fruit

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