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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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. land — ground
  3. rest — what's left
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. pop — music
  8. land — to come down
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. rest — a break
  14. pop — soda
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. land — a country
  17. rest — what's left
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bat — the animal
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pitch — completely
  24. hand — part of the body

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