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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bat — the animal
  4. branch — a division
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. capital — a city
  8. kid — child
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bass — the fish
  19. kid — to tease
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bass — low music
  22. capital — money
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. chair — a leader

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