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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — to tease
  3. date — the fruit
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. roll — a cake
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. scale — in music
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. scale — size or range
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. kid — child
  16. mark — a grade
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. file — a tool
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. roll — a list
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. file — a document

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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