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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. face — to point toward
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. spring — a coil
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. current — of water
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — a short time
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. spring — the season
  13. spell — magic
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. current — happening now
  16. cell — a phone
  17. current — electric
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. face — part of the head
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. face — to confront
  22. branch — a division
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. cell — in biology

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