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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. branch — a division
  3. game — wild animals
  4. current — of water
  5. cap — a hat
  6. drill — army training
  7. tear — from crying
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. spring — the season
  10. current — electric
  11. tear — to rip
  12. cap — a lid
  13. spring — of water
  14. current — happening now
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. cap — of ice
  17. game — a match
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — size or range
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — the tool
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spring — a coil

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