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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stand — to bear
  3. net — in sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. net — after costs
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. tear — from crying
  9. club — for golf
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. kid — child
  12. branch — a division
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. tear — from crying
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. club — a group
  17. date — the fruit
  18. kid — to tease
  19. club — for dancing
  20. tear — to rip
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. net — for catching
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. branch — of a bank

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