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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. kid — child
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. mark — a grade
  8. bore — to drill
  9. shower — rain
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cue — a signal
  13. mark — a trace
  14. bore — to tire
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. cue — a hint
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cue — for pool
  19. deal — to handle
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. branch — a division
  22. shower — to wash
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bat — the animal

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