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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. branch — a division
  3. spring — the season
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. stand — to bear
  8. wake — a trail
  9. spring — of water
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. deal — to handle
  12. spring — a coil
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. file — a document
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bound — tied together
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — certain
  23. file — a tool
  24. kid — child

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