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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 116 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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468
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: row · bark · branch · fall · rash · mate · ball · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bark — to shout
  6. ball — a dance
  7. mate — to breed
  8. row — a line
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. branch — a division
  11. fall — the season
  12. kid — child
  13. row — to paddle
  14. rash — a series
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. ball — a great time
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. mate — a friend
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. mate — a partner
  24. branch — of a bank

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