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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. capital — money
  4. kid — child
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cell — a phone
  10. tube — a container
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. kick — in football
  13. tube — the underground
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. court — of a king
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. capital — a city
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. snap — to click

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