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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. spell — magic
  4. season — of the year
  5. last — to go on
  6. spring — of water
  7. degree — temperature
  8. spell — a short time
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. spell — letters
  11. degree — from a university
  12. last — finally
  13. wound — an injury
  14. last — final
  15. wound — an injury
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. bank — for money
  19. degree — an amount
  20. season — in sport
  21. spring — the season
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bank — for money
  24. spring — a coil

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