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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 116 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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. race — a contest
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — a stone
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. race — humankind
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. race — the arms race
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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