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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: branch · tube · hand · trunk · spring · calf

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. spring — of water
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. spring — the season
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. spring — a coil
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. tube — a container

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