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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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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: kid · lie · ball · calf · cell · branch · file · club

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. lie — to recline
  4. file — a line of people
  5. club — for golf
  6. file — a tool
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cell — a phone
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. file — a document
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. kid — to tease
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. ball — a great time
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — a division
  20. club — a group
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cell — in biology
  24. ball — a dance

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