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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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: bat · kid · cold · board · lie · branch · stock · plane

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bat — the animal
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. kid — child
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. plane — a tool
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. lie — to recline
  15. board — a committee
  16. cold — an illness
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. cold — not warm
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — goods
  23. kid — to tease
  24. lie — an untruth

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