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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. club — a group
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. band — a music group
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bulb — for light
  7. club — for golf
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. spring — of water
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. band — a ring
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. sharp — clever
  17. spring — the season
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cell — in biology
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. branch — a division

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