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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. march — music
  5. kid — child
  6. season — of the year
  7. firm — steady
  8. kid — to tease
  9. hand — help
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. firm — a company
  13. march — the month
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. firm — decided
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. plane — a tool
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — in sport
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. branch — a division
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. march — the month
  24. hand — in cards

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