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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — of a river
  5. branch — a division
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. stock — shares
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bank — for money
  11. stock — goods
  12. kick — in football
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. wake — a trail
  16. chest — of your body
  17. roll — a list
  18. chest — a box
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. hand — help

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