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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: rule · kid · mine · track · branch · ball · squash · tube

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a dance
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. squash — to crush
  7. track — to keep track
  8. squash — the sport
  9. rule — a law
  10. tube — the underground
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. mine — for digging
  14. tube — a container
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. track — a song
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rule — government
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. track — a path
  22. branch — a division
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. kid — to tease

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