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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bass — the fish
  4. branch — a division
  5. lie — to recline
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bass — low music
  10. pitch — completely
  11. spring — of water
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. spring — the season
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — a series
  21. squash — the sport
  22. spring — a coil
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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