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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 · sharp · cold · mouse · mate · branch · chair · lie

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. kid — child
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. branch — a division
  9. mate — a partner
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mate — to breed
  21. cold — not warm
  22. kid — to tease
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. chair — a professorship

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