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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. degree — an amount
  3. spring — a coil
  4. club — a group
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bear — the animal
  7. spring — of water
  8. cap — a lid
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cap — a hat
  15. club — for golf
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. spring — the season
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cap — of ice

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