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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.

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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: pitcher · track · kid · kick · cold · safe · branch · charge

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. charge — a price
  7. cold — not warm
  8. track — a song
  9. kid — child
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. charge — electricity
  13. kid — to tease
  14. track — to keep track
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kick — in football
  21. charge — in control
  22. cold — an illness
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. branch — a division

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