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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. spring — of water
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. wound — an injury
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. ground — crushed
  14. net — in sport
  15. dip — to sink
  16. fine — all right
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. net — after costs
  20. fine — high quality
  21. branch — a division
  22. net — for catching
  23. wound — an injury
  24. spring — the season

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