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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 116 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. hand — in cards
  4. court — of a king
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kid — to tease
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. tear — from crying
  10. court — of law
  11. craft — a skill
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. tear — from crying
  15. band — a ring
  16. craft — boats
  17. court — for sport
  18. branch — a division
  19. band — a music group
  20. kid — child
  21. chair — a leader
  22. hand — help
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. tear — to rip

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