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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. wind — moving air
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. chest — of your body
  8. roll — a cake
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mark — a grade
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. roll — a list
  15. branch — a division
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. chest — of your body

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