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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. band — a music group
  6. net — in sport
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. pit — a hole
  10. band — a ring
  11. wake — a trail
  12. file — a tool
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pit — in a race
  22. branch — a division
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — a loud noise

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