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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mark — a trace
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. shower — to wash
  14. mark — a grade
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — rain
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. row — a line
  19. spring — the season
  20. squash — the sport
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. wake — a trail
  23. row — to paddle
  24. squash — to crush

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