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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. craft — a skill
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. ball — a dance
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — a division
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. degree — from a university
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. ball — a great time
  19. bat — the animal
  20. craft — boats
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fan — a supporter

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