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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. spring — a coil
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bear — the animal
  6. spring — of water
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. scale — size or range
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. last — finally
  12. branch — a division
  13. clip — for paper
  14. last — to go on
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — a video
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. clip — to cut
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. last — final
  24. spring — the season

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