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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. spring — a coil
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spring — the season
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bark — to shout
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. branch — a division
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. spring — of water
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. chest — of your body
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. chest — a box

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