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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. roll — a cake
  5. race — a contest
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bulb — for light
  10. present — the time now
  11. bulb — for light
  12. kid — to tease
  13. present — a gift
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. branch — a division
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. roll — a list
  23. present — there
  24. bulb — of a plant

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