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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. staff — a stick
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. kick — in football
  5. land — ground
  6. staff — employees
  7. court — of a king
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. staff — employees
  17. spring — a coil
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. spring — the season
  22. court — of law
  23. branch — a division
  24. court — for sport

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