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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. roll — a cake
  3. spring — the season
  4. pound — a weight
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. chest — a box
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. kick — in football
  12. spring — of water
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. branch — a division
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. chest — of your body
  20. roll — a list
  21. bass — low music
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. bass — the fish

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