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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: bat · march · branch · kid · straw · cue · chip · fine

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. branch — a division
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. chip — for betting
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. march — music
  10. cue — a signal
  11. fine — all right
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. chip — to eat
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. cue — for pool
  22. kid — child
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fine — high quality

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