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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: stick · present · racket · bat · bark · fall · branch · tear

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. present — a gift
  4. fall — to drop
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. fall — to drop
  10. branch — a division
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. present — there
  13. present — the time now
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bark — to shout
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. fall — the season
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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