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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: pop · bat · chair · branch · tear · mine · fine · rule

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. rule — a law
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bat — the animal
  5. branch — a division
  6. mine — for digging
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. pop — to visit
  9. fine — all right
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pop — music
  12. fine — high quality
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pop — soda
  20. chair — a leader
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. rule — government
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. tear — from crying

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