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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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Word bank
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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. kid — child
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. kid — to tease
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bore — to drill
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bank — for money
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. squash — to crush
  15. file — a tool
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. root — of a word
  19. file — a document
  20. bore — to tire
  21. root — the cause
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bank — for money

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