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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: prune · hand · kid · charge · pound · tube · branch · arm

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. branch — a division
  3. tube — a container
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. charge — a price
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. charge — in control
  10. charge — electricity
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — a weight
  13. hand — help
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tube — the underground
  16. prune — to trim
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. kid — to tease
  24. branch — of a tree

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