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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bank — for money
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. stock — goods
  7. bank — for money
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — the animal
  10. track — a path
  11. spell — magic
  12. bank — of a river
  13. track — a song
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. stock — shares
  17. spell — a short time
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. track — to keep track
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spell — letters
  24. branch — of a bank

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