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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: present · branch · kid · hide · court · mine · lean · sharp

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. kid — child
  7. branch — a division
  8. court — of a king
  9. lean — thin
  10. present — the time now
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. present — there
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. court — for sport
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. present — a gift
  18. lean — to bend
  19. court — of law
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. sharp — clever
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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