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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: date · chair · ball · nail · kid · lean · bat · branch

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. lean — thin
  8. ball — a great time
  9. kid — child
  10. branch — a division
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. lean — to bend
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. date — the fruit
  19. ball — a dance
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bat — the animal
  24. nail — for a hammer

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