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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. snap — to click
  11. club — for golf
  12. stock — goods
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. kid — child
  16. spring — of water
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bulb — for light
  19. stock — shares
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. spring — the season
  22. branch — a division
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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