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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. key — in music
  3. spring — a coil
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. spring — the season
  8. squash — the sport
  9. branch — a division
  10. court — for sport
  11. spring — of water
  12. court — of law
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. key — the most important part
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. key — for a lock
  18. court — of a king

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