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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. dip — to sink
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. march — the month
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. march — the month
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. hand — help
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rock — a stone
  22. branch — a division
  23. march — music
  24. wave — with your hand

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