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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 120 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. craft — a skill
  4. last — final
  5. mate — a friend
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. net — for catching
  8. fork — in a road
  9. mate — a partner
  10. kid — child
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. net — after costs
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. mate — to breed
  15. kid — to tease
  16. press — a publisher
  17. craft — boats
  18. net — in sport
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. press — to push
  23. branch — a division
  24. press — newspapers

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