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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bore — to tire
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. spring — the season
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bore — to drill
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — in golf
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water

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