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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. key — in music
  3. shower — rain
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — music
  6. branch — a division
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. key — for a lock
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. spring — of water
  13. capital — money
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. kid — child
  16. spring — the season
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. key — the most important part
  19. spring — a coil
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. capital — a city

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