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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. track — a path
  4. bulb — for light
  5. track — to keep track
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. mate — a partner
  10. track — a song
  11. court — of law
  12. wake — a trail
  13. spring — the season
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. branch — a division
  16. spring — of water
  17. bulb — for light
  18. mate — to breed
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. mate — a friend
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. spring — a coil

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