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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. branch — a division
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. chair — a leader
  11. present — a gift
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. mate — a friend
  18. present — there
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mate — a partner
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. bat — in an idiom

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