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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: current · mine · leaves · bat · saw · branch · temple · kid

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. kid — child
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. current — electric
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — a division
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. current — happening now
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. current — of water
  24. kid — to tease

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