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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: kid · march · current · leaves · chest · rock · branch · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chest — a box
  3. branch — a division
  4. kid — to tease
  5. chip — for betting
  6. rock — music
  7. kid — child
  8. current — of water
  9. march — music
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. chest — of your body
  13. march — the month
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. current — happening now
  20. march — the month
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. current — electric
  23. rock — a stone
  24. branch — of a tree

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