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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. pop — soda
  4. cell — in biology
  5. board — to get on
  6. bat — the animal
  7. spring — a coil
  8. board — a committee
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — for money
  12. cell — a phone
  13. spring — the season
  14. pop — music
  15. lean — thin
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. shower — rain
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. spring — of water
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. shower — to wash

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