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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. game — a match
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spring — the season
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spring — of water
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. rest — what's left
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. chest — a box
  12. pop — soda
  13. branch — a division
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pop — music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pop — to visit
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. chest — of your body
  21. game — wild animals
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. rest — a break
  24. leaves — of a tree

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