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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · kid · hand · sharp · lean · foot · object · branch

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. branch — a division
  4. object — a thing
  5. kid — child
  6. land — a country
  7. object — an aim
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. lean — to bend
  10. hand — in cards
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. object — to protest
  14. land — to come down
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. land — ground
  17. sharp — clever
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. kid — to tease
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. lean — thin
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. foot — a measure

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