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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. net — after costs
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. net — in sport
  5. kid — child
  6. net — for catching
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. date — the fruit
  11. kick — in football
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. kid — to tease
  16. mate — a friend
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill

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