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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. tear — from crying
  5. branch — a division
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bat — the animal
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. spring — of water
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cap — of ice
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. fork — in a road
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cap — a hat
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. cap — a lid

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