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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. cell — a phone
  3. spring — of water
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. saw — the tool
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. spring — the season
  14. cell — in biology
  15. kid — child
  16. spring — a coil
  17. kid — to tease
  18. prune — to trim
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. mark — a grade
  21. prune — to trim
  22. saw — the tool
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. branch — a division

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