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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. ball — a dance
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bulb — for light
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. branch — a division
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bulb — for light
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. rock — music
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. clip — a video
  21. ball — a great time
  22. rock — a stone
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. scale — in music

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