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

Word bank: last · wind · bulb · branch · bear · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. wind — moving air
  10. last — to go on
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. last — finally
  14. bulb — for light
  15. spring — of water
  16. branch — a division
  17. last — final
  18. spring — a coil

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