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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. kid — child
  2. firm — decided
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. fork — in a road
  6. deal — to handle
  7. kid — to tease
  8. firm — steady
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. degree — from a university
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. rash — hasty
  17. degree — an amount
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. rash — a series
  20. degree — temperature
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. firm — a company
  23. fork — to eat with
  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