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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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. mate — a friend
  4. kick — in football
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. spring — of water
  9. mate — to breed
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. game — wild animals
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. branch — a division
  15. mate — a partner
  16. game — a match
  17. deal — to handle
  18. spring — the season

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