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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. present — there
  4. branch — a division
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — the time now
  10. spell — magic
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. lie — to recline
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. spell — letters
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. stand — to bear
  18. snap — to click
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. spell — a short time
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. kid — to tease
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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