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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. spring — of water
  3. cell — a phone
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. lean — to bend
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. spring — the season
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — thin
  12. spring — a coil
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. pop — to visit
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pop — music
  17. kick — in football
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pop — soda
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. branch — a division
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. squash — the sport

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