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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. tear — from crying
  7. band — a music group
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. tear — to rip
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. band — a ring
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. game — a match
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. branch — a division

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