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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: suit · mine · bore · cold · spring · snap · branch · march

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. march — the month
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. snap — to click
  5. bore — to drill
  6. suit — to fit
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. suit — in cards
  9. bore — to tire
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. march — music
  12. suit — clothes
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. march — the month
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. mine — for digging
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. branch — a division

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