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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. spell — magic
  3. track — a path
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. track — to keep track
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. scale — size or range
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cell — a phone
  16. spell — letters
  17. branch — a division
  18. scale — in music

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