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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rash — a series
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. lean — to bend
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bat — the animal
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. race — humankind
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. ball — a great time
  20. rash — hasty
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. branch — a division
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. ball — a dance

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