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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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 — of a tree
  3. kid — to tease
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. key — for a lock
  8. ground — crushed
  9. kid — child
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. key — in music
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. rush — hurry
  16. net — for catching
  17. branch — a division
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. land — to come down
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. key — the most important part
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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