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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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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: cabinet · nail · branch · game · season · perch · fall · bat

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. season — of the year
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. fall — to drop
  12. season — in sport
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bat — the animal
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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