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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. chip — for betting
  4. row — to paddle
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. prune — to trim
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. rash — a series
  11. ball — a dance
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — to eat
  15. prune — to trim
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. ball — a great time
  20. row — a line
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bat — the animal
  23. nail — on a finger
  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