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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. branch — a division
  3. field — farmland
  4. pit — a hole
  5. mark — a grade
  6. shower — rain
  7. pop — music
  8. pit — in a race
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pop — to visit
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mark — a trace
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. wind — moving air
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. kid — child
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pop — soda
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for 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