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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. ball — a dance
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — a short time
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bat — the animal
  11. capital — money
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. branch — a division
  17. perch — the fish
  18. capital — a city
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. spell — magic
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. ball — a great time

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