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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. chest — of your body
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. current — electric
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. branch — a division
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mark — a trace
  19. chest — a box
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chest — of your body
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — of water

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