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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 · net · roll · temple · chair · bat · branch · rash

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. branch — a division
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. net — for catching
  4. rash — a series
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. kid — to tease
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. net — in sport
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. roll — a cake
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. roll — a list
  21. kid — child
  22. net — after costs
  23. chair — a leader
  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