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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. chest — of your body
  7. date — the fruit
  8. court — of a king
  9. chest — a box
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. court — for sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. chest — of your body
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. court — of law
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. branch — a division
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bat — the animal
  24. jam — a tight spot

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