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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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. branch — of a tree
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. branch — a division
  5. swing — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bat — the animal
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. deal — to handle
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. swing — in golf
  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