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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. staff — a stick
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. field — farmland
  6. lean — to bend
  7. field — for sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — a division
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. field — a subject
  18. staff — employees
  19. wind — moving air
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — thin
  23. staff — employees
  24. trunk — of a car

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