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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. kid — to tease
  3. scale — size or range
  4. prune — to trim
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. kid — child
  8. branch — a division
  9. prune — to trim
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. lean — to bend
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. scale — in music
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. lean — thin

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