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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. kid — to tease
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. hand — in cards
  6. rule — government
  7. spring — of water
  8. kid — child
  9. cue — a hint
  10. firm — decided
  11. rule — a law
  12. spring — the season
  13. firm — steady
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cue — a signal
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. cue — for pool
  18. spring — a coil
  19. branch — a division
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. firm — a company
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. dip — to sink

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