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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 120 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've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wind — moving air
  5. track — a path
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kid — to tease
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bark — to shout
  10. track — a song
  11. board — a committee
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. kid — child
  14. track — to keep track
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. branch — a division
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. board — to get on

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