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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. lean — to bend
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — magic
  7. cold — an illness
  8. current — happening now
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. kid — to tease
  11. spell — letters
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. toast — bread
  18. branch — a division
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. current — electric
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. current — of water
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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