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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. hand — in cards
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. ground — a position
  6. file — a line of people
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. hand — help
  10. ground — crushed
  11. kid — to tease
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. kid — child
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. ground — the earth
  17. can — a tin
  18. file — a document
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. can — a tin
  21. branch — a division
  22. mark — a grade
  23. can — to be able to
  24. mark — a trace

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