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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cell — a phone
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wake — a trail
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. row — to paddle
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child

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