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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. present — there
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. march — music
  5. kid — child
  6. cap — a hat
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cap — a lid
  14. march — the month
  15. snap — to click
  16. present — a gift
  17. present — the time now
  18. branch — a division
  19. kid — to tease
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. march — the month
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pass — a permit

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