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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — size or range
  4. drill — army training
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. net — for catching
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fork — in a road
  10. drill — the tool
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. branch — a division
  14. drill — a practice
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fine — high quality
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. kid — to tease
  21. scale — in music
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fine — all right
  24. fall — the season

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