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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bank — of a river
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. ball — a great time
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. club — for golf
  10. spring — the season
  11. bank — for money
  12. net — for catching
  13. branch — a division
  14. net — in sport
  15. bank — for money
  16. bat — the animal
  17. net — after costs
  18. club — a group
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. spring — of water
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. pitch — completely
  23. ball — a dance
  24. spring — a coil

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