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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: spring · mine · branch · content · stem · deal

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. deal — to handle
  9. stem — to come from
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. content — the amount
  14. branch — a division
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. content — happy
  18. branch — of a bank

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