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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · bulb · rash · leaves · branch · bat

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — a group
  6. bulb — for light
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. branch — a division
  14. club — for golf
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rash — a series
  17. bulb — for light
  18. branch — of a bank

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