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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: rush · board · tear · content · fall · bat · field · branch

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. tear — from crying
  6. field — a subject
  7. board — a committee
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. tear — to rip
  14. content — happy
  15. fall — to drop
  16. content — the amount
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. board — to get on
  19. bat — the animal
  20. branch — a division
  21. tear — from crying
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — farmland

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