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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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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 · saw · spell · fan · branch · court · wake · club

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. court — of law
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. court — of a king
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. club — a group
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. saw — the tool
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. spell — magic
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. saw — the tool
  14. court — for sport
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wake — a trail
  17. spell — a short time
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — for golf
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. spell — letters
  23. branch — a division
  24. bat — the animal

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