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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. band — a music group
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. pound — a weight
  5. cold — not warm
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. kid — to tease
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. band — a ring
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. shower — rain
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. shower — to wash
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. safe — out of danger

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