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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: branch · kid · pit · squash · hand · sharp · rock · band

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. hand — in cards
  4. squash — to crush
  5. band — a ring
  6. rock — a stone
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — music
  10. kid — to tease
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pit — a hole
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — clever
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pit — in a race
  21. band — a music group
  22. hand — help
  23. branch — a division
  24. squash — the sport

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