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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — the sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. land — ground
  9. season — of the year
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. land — to come down
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. land — a country
  16. pit — a hole
  17. season — in sport
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. branch — a division
  21. pit — in a race
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. branch — of a tree

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