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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 120 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 · net · shower · nail · kid · mouse · branch · court

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. net — for catching
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. kid — to tease
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. spring — a coil
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. kid — child
  14. spring — the season
  15. net — in sport
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. branch — a division
  19. net — after costs
  20. spring — of water
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. court — for sport
  24. mouse — for a computer

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