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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pit — a hole
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bulb — for light
  6. branch — a division
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bulb — for light
  14. file — a document
  15. kid — child
  16. file — a line of people
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. fall — the season
  24. file — a tool

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