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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: squash · branch · chip · arm · file · kid · firm · wake

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. kid — child
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. firm — steady
  7. file — a tool
  8. firm — decided
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wake — a trail
  12. firm — a company
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — for betting
  17. file — a line of people
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. file — a document
  24. arm — part of the body

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