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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cell — in biology
  3. ball — a dance
  4. spring — of water
  5. ball — a great time
  6. pop — to visit
  7. cell — a phone
  8. spring — the season
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. spring — a coil
  11. march — music
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. march — the month
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — a division
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — soda
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. track — to keep track
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. cell — in a prison

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