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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. spring — of water
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. spring — the season
  14. branch — a division
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. bat — the animal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. rush — hurry
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bat — in an idiom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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