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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. sharp — clever
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bound — obliged
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spring — a coil
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. spring — of water
  9. cap — a lid
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bound — certain
  12. cap — a hat
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. spring — the season
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. bound — tied together
  19. prune — to trim
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. rest — a break
  23. branch — a division
  24. prune — to trim

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