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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 116 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 chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cold — not warm
  3. branch — a division
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. prune — to trim
  8. present — there
  9. march — the month
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cold — an illness
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — a gift
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. march — the month
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. march — music
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. prune — to trim

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