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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. rash — a series
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. date — the fruit
  6. rash — hasty
  7. capital — a city
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. branch — a division
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. stand — to bear
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. capital — money
  18. bat — the animal
  19. prune — to trim
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. date — on the calendar

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