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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. current — electric
  7. drill — army training
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wound — an injury
  12. current — of water
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. spring — the season
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. spring — a coil
  17. branch — a division
  18. spring — of water
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. drill — a practice
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wound — an injury
  23. current — happening now
  24. drill — the tool

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