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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: foot · ball · branch · rule · pass · spring · bat · lean

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. lean — thin
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — a measure
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. ball — a great time
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. ball — a dance
  13. lean — to bend
  14. bat — the animal
  15. branch — a division
  16. rule — a law
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. spring — the season
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. lean — to rest against

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