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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: branch · chest · file · rash · kid · key · spell · swing

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. key — for a lock
  4. swing — to play on
  5. kid — to tease
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — a division
  8. key — in music
  9. file — a line of people
  10. spell — magic
  11. swing — in golf
  12. spell — letters
  13. swing — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. chest — of your body
  18. key — the most important part
  19. file — a document
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. chest — a box
  23. rash — hasty
  24. spell — a short time

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