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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: bat · squash · pass · calf · race · shower · racket · branch

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. shower — rain
  5. pass — a permit
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. race — a contest
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. squash — to crush
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. branch — a division
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bat — in an idiom

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