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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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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 · hand · bear · race · perch · kid · game · bank

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. kid — child
  4. hand — in cards
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. bank — for money
  8. hand — help
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bank — for money
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bank — of a river
  14. branch — a division
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kid — to tease
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. race — humankind
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. race — a contest

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