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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 120 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: file · branch · dip · bowl · pit · racket · stem · bat

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. file — a tool
  6. pit — a hole
  7. bat — the animal
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. file — a line of people
  14. dip — to sink
  15. file — a document
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bowl — a football final

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