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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: hand · spring · snap · rush · trunk · branch · ball · fan

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. hand — help
  4. ball — a great time
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. ball — a dance
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. snap — to click
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. rush — hurry
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. hand — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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