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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bat — the animal
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. tear — from crying
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. pit — a hole
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. foot — a measure
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. tear — to rip
  21. branch — a division
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. pit — in a race

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