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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. file — a tool
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bulb — for light
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. branch — a division
  8. file — a document
  9. band — a ring
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mate — to breed
  13. hand — in cards
  14. mate — a partner
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. mate — a friend
  17. hand — help
  18. band — a music group
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bulb — for light
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bulb — of a plant

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