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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. branch — a division
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bark — to shout
  7. spring — of water
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a grade
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bat — the animal
  22. chair — a leader
  23. spring — the season
  24. bat — in an idiom

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