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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. track — a song
  3. rule — a law
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. kid — child
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. rule — government
  12. rest — what's left
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. kid — to tease
  17. branch — a division
  18. track — a path
  19. track — to keep track
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rest — a break
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. fork — in a road
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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