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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. branch — a division
  3. wake — a trail
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. spring — a coil
  8. ball — a great time
  9. pop — soda
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. foot — a measure
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. ball — a dance
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pop — music
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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