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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 120 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. kid — to tease
  4. swing — to play on
  5. shower — rain
  6. land — to come down
  7. shower — to wash
  8. branch — a division
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. kid — child
  18. chair — a leader

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