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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 · sharp · temple · pit · cell · squash · kid · hand

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. hand — in cards
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a hole
  8. squash — the sport
  9. sharp — clever
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. hand — help
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cell — a phone
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. branch — a division
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kid — child
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. sharp — exactly

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