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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. spring — the season
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. pop — music
  8. rest — a break
  9. scale — size or range
  10. pop — soda
  11. rest — what's left
  12. spring — of water
  13. degree — temperature
  14. spring — a coil
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rest — what's left
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. scale — in music
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bat — the animal
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pop — to visit

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