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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. spring — the season
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. spring — of water
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. season — in sport
  13. band — a music group
  14. fork — in a road
  15. season — of the year
  16. game — a match
  17. lie — to recline
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. spring — a coil
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. game — wild animals
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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