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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mine — for digging
  3. spring — of water
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — music
  7. spring — the season
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. season — of the year
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pop — soda
  14. club — for golf
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. club — a group
  17. season — in sport
  18. pound — a weight
  19. club — for dancing
  20. spring — a coil
  21. pitch — completely
  22. branch — a division
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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