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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. rash — hasty
  4. scale — in music
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stock — shares
  10. rash — a series
  11. bound — certain
  12. branch — a division
  13. bound — obliged
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. stock — goods
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bound — tied together
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. stock — a soup base

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