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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. spring — a coil
  3. chest — of your body
  4. game — wild animals
  5. branch — a division
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. chest — a box
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. spring — of water
  13. game — a match
  14. key — for a lock
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. key — in music
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. fork — in a road
  20. chest — of your body
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. perch — the fish
  23. spring — the season
  24. key — the most important part

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