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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 120 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. firm — decided
  4. bat — the animal
  5. scale — in music
  6. branch — a division
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rest — what's left
  11. firm — a company
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. mine — for digging
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. drill — army training
  22. firm — steady
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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