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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. branch — a division
  3. spring — of water
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. spring — a coil
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. spring — the season
  15. bass — the fish
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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