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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. date — the fruit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bore — to drill
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. net — after costs
  7. ball — a great time
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. net — in sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. ball — a dance
  18. file — a document
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. file — a tool
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. net — for catching
  23. bore — to tire
  24. racket — a loud noise

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