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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 116 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: kid · ball · pit · band · bat · net · bear · branch

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. ball — a dance
  3. kid — child
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. net — in sport
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. net — after costs
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. net — for catching
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. band — a ring
  16. pit — in a race
  17. bat — the animal
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — a division
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pit — a hole
  24. kid — to tease

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