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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. swing — music
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. march — the month
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. bear — the animal
  16. swing — in golf
  17. march — the month
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. march — music
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. cold — not warm
  22. swing — to play on
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rush — hurry

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