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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 120 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 · rest · hide · branch · mine · mark · cell · fine

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. fine — all right
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a grade
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. mark — a trace
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rest — what's left
  17. branch — a division
  18. mine — for digging
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fine — high quality
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. kid — child
  24. cell — in biology

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