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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. spring — the season
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. file — a document
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. fine — all right
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — music
  15. rock — a stone
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. rock — music
  21. fine — high quality
  22. pop — soda
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. file — a line of people

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