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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bore — to tire
  3. mine — for digging
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. rash — hasty
  7. tube — the underground
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. saw — the tool
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. hand — in cards
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. rash — a series
  18. tube — a container
  19. hand — help
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. branch — a division
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bore — to drill

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