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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. rash — a series
  4. charge — a price
  5. staff — a stick
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. branch — a division
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to click
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. charge — in control
  14. bat — the animal
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. charge — electricity
  19. date — the fruit
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. kid — child
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. kid — to tease

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