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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 116 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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. can — a tin
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. bore — to tire
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. court — of law
  9. spring — of water
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. rash — a series
  12. can — a tin
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bore — to drill
  17. can — to be able to
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. rash — hasty
  20. branch — a division
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. kid — child
  23. racket — for tennis
  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