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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. game — wild animals
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. spring — a coil
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mark — a trace
  10. file — a line of people
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. band — a music group
  14. game — a match
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. spring — the season
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. file — a tool
  19. spring — of water
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. file — a document
  22. mark — a grade
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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