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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. hand — help
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. kick — in football
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hand — in cards
  16. branch — a division
  17. rule — a law
  18. squash — the sport
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. wind — moving air
  22. squash — to crush
  23. wound — an injury
  24. kick — a thrill

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