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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. content — the amount
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. spell — letters
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. spell — a short time
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a grade
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. shower — to wash
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. branch — a division
  18. content — happy
  19. kick — in football
  20. mark — a trace
  21. spring — a coil
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. shower — rain
  24. spell — magic

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