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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cue — for pool
  3. branch — a division
  4. toast — bread
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — thin
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. spring — of water
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. cue — a signal
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. bark — to shout
  20. cue — a hint
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. plane — an aircraft

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