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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. spring — a coil
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. fine — all right
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cell — a phone
  13. pit — in a race
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. fine — high quality
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bark — to shout
  23. game — a match
  24. branch — of a bank

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