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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. spring — the season
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. can — a tin
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. can — to be able to
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. can — a tin
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. spring — a coil
  15. branch — a division
  16. date — the fruit
  17. cell — in biology
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pound — a weight
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. spring — of water
  24. pound — for dogs

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