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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. kid — child
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. branch — a division
  17. cold — not warm
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. chip — for betting
  24. stand — to bear

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