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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. cell — a phone
  5. spring — a coil
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. spring — of water
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. cell — in biology
  16. board — to get on
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. spring — the season
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. last — to go on
  22. prune — to trim
  23. board — a committee
  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