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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 · march · wind · object · arm · file · branch · mine

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. file — a line of people
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. march — the month
  6. kid — child
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — a thing
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. kid — to tease
  11. file — a tool
  12. branch — a division
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. march — the month
  18. object — to protest
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. march — music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. file — a document

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