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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bass — low music
  4. bank — of a river
  5. last — finally
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. last — final
  8. bank — for money
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. stock — shares
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. ground — a position
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stock — goods
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. last — to go on
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. ground — the earth
  20. spring — the season
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bank — for money
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bat — for baseball

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