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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. spring — a coil
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. pop — music
  7. spell — magic
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — a division
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. swing — in golf
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. spell — letters
  14. pop — soda
  15. spring — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pop — to visit
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. spell — a short time
  21. swing — music
  22. spring — of water
  23. fall — to drop
  24. swing — to play on

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