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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. tube — a container
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mate — a friend
  5. chest — a box
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. squash — to crush
  8. spell — letters
  9. branch — a division
  10. spring — of water
  11. tube — the underground
  12. spell — magic
  13. rash — a series
  14. squash — the sport
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. spring — the season
  18. rash — hasty
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. spring — a coil
  21. mate — to breed
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mate — a partner

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