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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. bat — the animal
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. band — a music group
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. staff — employees
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. staff — a stick
  15. squash — to crush
  16. branch — a division
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. staff — employees
  23. game — wild animals
  24. band — a ring

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