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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: leaves · cell · bore · tear · cap · branch · racket · bat

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cap — a lid
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bore — to tire
  7. tear — from crying
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. tear — from crying
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bat — the animal
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. tear — to rip
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bore — to drill
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. cell — in biology

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