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

Word bank: hand · branch · bat · chair · calf · dip · rule · pop

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. hand — help
  3. pop — soda
  4. chair — a leader
  5. dip — to sink
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. rule — a law
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. rule — government
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. branch — a division
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — to visit
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chair — a professorship

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