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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. club — a group
  3. net — in sport
  4. key — for a lock
  5. branch — a division
  6. spring — a coil
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. key — the most important part
  10. spring — of water
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. net — after costs
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. key — in music
  16. club — for dancing
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. club — for golf
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. net — for catching
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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