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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. spring — of water
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. spring — a coil
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. row — to paddle
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — boats
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. row — a line
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. pitch — completely
  18. kick — in football
  19. craft — a skill
  20. branch — a division
  21. spring — the season
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. fork — in a road
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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