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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. chip — for betting
  4. march — music
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. mug — to rob
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. wound — an injury
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. march — the month
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. branch — a division
  15. mug — a cup
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. mug — a face
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. chip — to eat
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. march — the month

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