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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. rock — a stone
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pound — a weight
  12. kid — child
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. branch — a division
  18. rush — 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