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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. spell — a short time
  3. ball — a great time
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. mark — a grade
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. spell — letters
  8. mark — a trace
  9. band — a ring
  10. ball — a dance
  11. spell — magic
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. mate — a partner
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cold — not warm
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mate — a friend
  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