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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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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: net · pass · foot · branch · racket · tear · bat · capital

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. pass — a permit
  7. foot — a measure
  8. branch — a division
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. capital — money
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. capital — a city
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. net — for catching
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. tear — from crying
  19. net — in sport
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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