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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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Word bank
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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. squash — to crush
  3. spring — a coil
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. branch — a division
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. charge — a price
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. squash — the sport
  12. spring — the season
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. game — a match
  18. charge — electricity
  19. game — wild animals
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. charge — in control
  23. scale — size or range
  24. spring — 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