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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: rock · shower · pit · branch · racket · content · mate · kid

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. kid — to tease
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — a division
  6. rock — a stone
  7. kid — child
  8. pit — in a race
  9. shower — to wash
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. rock — music
  14. pit — a hole
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. shower — rain
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. mate — a partner
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. content — videos and posts

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