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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.

Make a worksheet

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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. mug — a face
  3. spring — the season
  4. game — a match
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. game — wild animals
  9. spring — of water
  10. mug — to rob
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. branch — a division
  13. spring — a coil
  14. ball — a dance
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rash — hasty
  17. mug — a cup
  18. rash — a series

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