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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rock — a stone
  7. bulb — for light
  8. perch — the fish
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rock — music
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. band — a ring
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bark — to shout
  21. spring — the season
  22. degree — temperature
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. degree — an amount

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