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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: season · wound · ball · kid · file · spell · safe · branch

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. ball — a great time
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wound — an injury
  6. season — in sport
  7. ball — a dance
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. file — a document
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. file — a tool
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. spell — letters
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. branch — a division
  18. file — a line of people
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. wound — an injury
  24. season — of the year

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