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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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468
Word bank
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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. branch — a division
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. hand — in cards
  7. race — a contest
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. race — the arms race
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. file — a line of people
  14. race — humankind
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. file — a tool
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. file — a document

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