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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. spell — magic
  3. branch — a division
  4. kid — to tease
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. spell — letters
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. file — a line of people
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bore — to drill
  16. file — a document
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bore — to tire
  22. kid — child
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. coach — a trainer

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