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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. toast — bread
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. bark — to shout
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. wind — moving air
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — a division
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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