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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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. club — for golf
  3. branch — a division
  4. club — a group
  5. bound — certain
  6. foot — a measure
  7. mark — a grade
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bound — tied together
  14. club — for dancing
  15. hand — help
  16. spring — of water
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. spring — the season
  20. mark — a trace
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bound — obliged

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