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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. kid — child
  3. rest — what's left
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. spring — a coil
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. rest — a break
  9. season — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. mark — a trace
  14. spring — the season
  15. branch — a division
  16. mark — a grade
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. net — for catching
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. rest — what's left
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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