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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rash — a series
  3. pit — in a race
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pop — to visit
  7. spring — a coil
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. clip — for paper
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pop — soda
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. stem — to come from
  15. branch — a division
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pop — music
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. rash — hasty
  22. pit — a hole
  23. clip — a video
  24. spring — of water

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