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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: kid · lean · spell · fine · toast · club · cold · branch

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. spell — magic
  3. fine — all right
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. toast — bread
  6. cold — not warm
  7. club — for dancing
  8. lean — to bend
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. kid — child
  13. branch — a division
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. spell — a short time
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. spell — letters
  19. cold — an illness
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. club — a group
  22. fine — high quality
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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