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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · kid · pit · stock · ruler · mine · hide · branch

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hand — help
  7. kid — to tease
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. pit — a hole
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. hand — in cards
  17. mine — for digging
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. pit — in a race
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. stock — shares
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. stock — goods
  24. ruler — for measuring

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