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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. march — the month
  5. rock — music
  6. spring — a coil
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. march — music
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cell — in biology
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. march — the month
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. wake — a trail
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rock — a stone
  18. spring — the season
  19. branch — a division
  20. spring — of water
  21. pound — a weight
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. ball — a great time

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