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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. last — finally
  3. track — a song
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cue — a signal
  6. wound — an injury
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. scale — in music
  9. cue — for pool
  10. spring — of water
  11. last — final
  12. track — a path
  13. wound — an injury
  14. branch — a division
  15. club — a group
  16. scale — size or range
  17. last — to go on
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. club — for dancing
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. spring — the season
  23. cue — a hint
  24. club — for golf

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