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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. spring — of water
  5. ball — a great time
  6. game — wild animals
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. spring — a coil
  9. ball — a dance
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. track — a song
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. track — to keep track
  15. branch — a division
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. spring — the season
  18. capital — a city
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. game — a match
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. mouse — the animal

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