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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. can — a tin
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. court — of a king
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. can — to be able to
  7. file — a document
  8. court — of law
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a tool
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. court — for sport
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. roll — a cake
  17. branch — a division
  18. roll — a list
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bat — the animal
  21. toast — bread
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. can — a tin
  24. roll — on a roll

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