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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 124 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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. snap — to click
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. perch — the fish
  6. branch — a division
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. ball — a dance
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. ball — a great time
  15. spring — of water
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bulb — for light
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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