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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. branch — a division
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pop — music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a skill
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. kid — to tease
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pop — to visit
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. pop — soda
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — a grade
  21. capital — money
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. capital — a city
  24. bear — the animal

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