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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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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: land · fine · fan · branch · court · bay · bat · wave

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. fine — all right
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. land — a country
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. court — for sport
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. land — ground
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. branch — a division
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. fine — high quality
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. land — to come down
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. fan — to cool the air

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