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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.

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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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bore — to tire
  7. branch — a division
  8. capital — a city
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. spring — the season
  14. bear — the animal
  15. capital — money
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. spring — of water
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. bore — gave birth

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