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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 120 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. sharp — clever
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. lie — to recline
  8. foot — a measure
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. stock — goods
  12. degree — temperature
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. branch — a division
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. row — to paddle
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stock — shares
  24. kid — child

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