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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — employees
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. scale — in music
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. scale — size or range
  12. staff — a stick
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pit — in a race
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. saw — the tool
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. pit — a hole
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. spring — the season
  24. bark — of a tree

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