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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: bat · bowl · rush · spell · branch · cold · foot · club

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. spell — letters
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. spell — magic
  6. rush — hurry
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bat — the animal
  14. club — for dancing
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. cold — not warm
  17. club — a group
  18. cold — an illness
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. club — for golf
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. branch — a division
  24. foot — a measure

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