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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mine — for digging
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. shower — rain
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. shower — to wash
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. spring — of water
  12. present — there
  13. present — the time now
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. band — a ring
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. present — a gift
  18. vault — a safe
  19. chair — a leader
  20. band — a music group
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. spring — the season

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