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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. last — final
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. season — of the year
  5. can — a tin
  6. last — to go on
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. last — finally
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. season — in sport
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. dip — to sink
  15. fork — in a road
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. kid — to tease
  20. branch — a division
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. dip — a sauce

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