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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. kid — child
  4. clip — to cut
  5. branch — a division
  6. kid — to tease
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. root — of a plant
  11. rule — a law
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. root — of a word
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. clip — for paper
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. net — after costs
  21. root — the cause
  22. net — for catching
  23. clip — a video
  24. net — in sport

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