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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. kid — to tease
  5. spring — the season
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. suit — to fit
  10. stock — shares
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. present — a gift
  13. squash — to crush
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. spring — of water
  16. present — the time now
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stock — goods
  20. kid — child
  21. spring — a coil
  22. branch — a division
  23. suit — in cards
  24. suit — clothes

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