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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. wound — an injury
  3. net — for catching
  4. rest — what's left
  5. spring — a coil
  6. net — in sport
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spring — the season
  10. rest — a break
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. branch — a division
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. spring — of water
  15. court — for sport
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. roll — a list
  18. wound — an injury
  19. net — after costs
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. court — of a king
  22. dip — to sink
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. court — of law

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