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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: mine · jam · branch · hand · toast · mark · deal · bat

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. mine — for digging
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. hand — in cards
  8. toast — bread
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. deal — to handle
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. jam — in traffic
  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