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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. chest — of your body
  3. march — music
  4. kid — to tease
  5. march — the month
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. wound — an injury
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. branch — a division
  14. can — to be able to
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. can — a tin
  18. chest — of your body
  19. kid — child
  20. can — a tin
  21. chest — a box
  22. march — the month
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. safe — out of danger

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