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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bulb — for light
  3. court — for sport
  4. kid — child
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. branch — a division
  11. bank — for money
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bank — of a river
  14. court — of a king
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. court — of law
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. pitch — completely
  19. sharp — clever
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bank — for money
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. sharp — with an edge

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