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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. ball — a dance
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. roll — a cake
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. scale — in music
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — a division
  10. date — the fruit
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bound — obliged
  16. ball — a great time
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bound — tied together
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bound — certain
  24. roll — a list

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