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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: branch · game · field · rest · kid · lash · rock · tube

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. tube — the underground
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. field — for sport
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. rest — a break
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rest — what's left
  10. field — farmland
  11. tube — a container
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. field — a subject
  14. rock — music
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. rest — what's left
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rock — a stone
  23. game — a match
  24. kid — child

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