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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. net — for catching
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mark — a grade
  6. bank — of a river
  7. net — after costs
  8. bat — the animal
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. net — in sport
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. object — to protest
  14. bank — for money
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. branch — a division
  18. bank — for money
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — an aim
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. kid — child
  24. mark — a trace

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