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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 116 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. pit — in a race
  3. hand — in cards
  4. branch — a division
  5. net — after costs
  6. swing — in golf
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. net — in sport
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — high quality
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. hand — help
  17. spring — the season
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. swing — music
  20. net — for catching
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — a hole
  23. swing — to play on
  24. branch — of a bank

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