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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. key — for a lock
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. kid — child
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. branch — a division
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. rash — a series
  12. key — in music
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. kid — to tease
  17. race — humankind
  18. pound — a weight
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. key — the most important part
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. rash — hasty

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