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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
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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 · rule · mouse · pass · wound · row · branch · spell

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. spell — magic
  4. row — a line
  5. spell — letters
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rule — a law
  17. pass — a permit
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — a division
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. wound — an injury

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