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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. key — in music
  5. spring — a coil
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. rest — what's left
  8. branch — a division
  9. key — the most important part
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. spring — of water
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rest — what's left
  16. last — final
  17. mark — a grade
  18. last — to go on
  19. mine — for digging
  20. last — finally
  21. key — for a lock
  22. rest — a break
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. mark — a trace

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