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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. bank — for money
  4. scale — size or range
  5. snap — to click
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bank — for money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bat — the animal
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. branch — a division
  15. scale — in music
  16. capital — money
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — for betting
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. capital — a city
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bat — for baseball

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