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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. file — a document
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. saw — the tool
  5. kid — child
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bat — the animal
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stock — shares
  12. can — to be able to
  13. stock — goods
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. file — a tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. file — a line of people
  21. can — a tin
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. branch — a division

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