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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. kid — child
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. stem — to come from
  13. branch — a division
  14. kid — to tease
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bound — certain
  17. field — a subject
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. field — for sport
  20. rush — hurry
  21. bound — tied together
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. field — farmland
  24. nail — on a finger

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