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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. fall — to drop
  5. present — there
  6. tear — from crying
  7. band — a music group
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. present — a gift
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. prune — to trim
  14. band — a ring
  15. kid — to tease
  16. branch — a division
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tear — from crying
  22. present — the time now
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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