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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 120 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. present — there
  5. hand — in cards
  6. kid — child
  7. hand — help
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. present — the time now
  10. bank — for money
  11. present — a gift
  12. mine — for digging
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. file — a document
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bank — of a river
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bank — for money
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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