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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: cue · branch · cold · safe · bound · craft · kid · pitch

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. branch — a division
  6. kid — child
  7. cold — an illness
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pitch — completely
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. bound — certain
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. cue — a hint
  16. bound — obliged
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cue — for pool
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. craft — boats
  23. bound — tied together
  24. cold — the Cold War

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