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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bass — low music
  9. firm — a company
  10. prune — to trim
  11. firm — decided
  12. last — to go on
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. last — final
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. firm — steady
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bass — the fish
  19. branch — a division
  20. hand — in cards
  21. foot — a measure
  22. last — finally
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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