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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. branch — a division
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cell — a phone
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pass — a permit
  19. cell — in biology
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cold — not warm

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