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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. court — of law
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bore — to drill
  5. object — to protest
  6. kid — child
  7. object — an aim
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. object — a thing
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. file — a document
  12. bore — to tire
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. court — for sport
  16. file — a line of people
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. chest — a box
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. file — a tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. court — of a king

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