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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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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: chair · pound · object · kid · lie · branch · bay · land

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. object — to protest
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. pound — a weight
  7. kid — child
  8. branch — a division
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. land — ground
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — a thing
  16. lie — to recline
  17. chair — a leader
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. land — to come down
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. land — a country

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