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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. spring — a coil
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. object — a thing
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. pop — music
  8. perch — the fish
  9. spring — the season
  10. object — an aim
  11. pop — soda
  12. band — a music group
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. spring — of water
  15. band — a ring
  16. branch — a division
  17. object — to protest
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. row — a line
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pop — to visit
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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