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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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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: chair · tube · firm · wound · snap · kid · branch · current

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. tube — a container
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. firm — a company
  7. current — happening now
  8. firm — steady
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. current — electric
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. kid — to tease
  14. chair — a leader
  15. firm — decided
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wound — an injury
  19. branch — a division
  20. wound — an injury
  21. snap — to click
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. current — of water
  24. tube — the underground

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