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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. chest — of your body
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bank — of a river
  6. spring — the season
  7. roll — a cake
  8. bank — for money
  9. game — wild animals
  10. spring — of water
  11. track — to keep track
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. game — a match
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. chest — a box
  16. bore — to drill
  17. chest — of your body
  18. roll — a list
  19. bank — for money
  20. branch — a division
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. branch — of a bank

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