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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wound — an injury
  4. shower — rain
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. branch — a division
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. spell — letters
  16. kid — child
  17. spell — a short time
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — a leader
  20. kid — to tease
  21. spell — magic
  22. shower — to wash
  23. date — the fruit
  24. branch — of a bank

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