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

Word bank: kid · deal · bore · present · branch · rash · chest · band

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. rash — on the skin
  2. kid — child
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. rash — hasty
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. chest — of your body
  8. present — there
  9. bore — to drill
  10. band — a music group
  11. branch — a division
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — to handle
  19. rash — a series
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bore — to tire
  22. band — a ring
  23. chest — a box
  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