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

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. chest — of your body
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. spring — of water
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. object — a thing
  9. branch — a division
  10. object — an aim
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. spring — a coil
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. object — to protest
  17. spring — the season
  18. bowl — to roll

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