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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 120 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: row · suit · branch · kid · bat · race · plane · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — a tool
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — a division
  7. race — humankind
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. kid — child
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. race — the arms race
  14. suit — clothes
  15. race — a contest
  16. row — to paddle
  17. spell — letters
  18. suit — to fit
  19. suit — in cards
  20. row — a line
  21. spell — a short time
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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