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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: bowl · spring · pop · branch · snap · rash · ground · foot

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. snap — to click
  3. branch — a division
  4. foot — a measure
  5. pop — soda
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. spring — the season
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. ground — crushed
  18. pop — music
  19. rash — a series
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. ground — the earth
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. rash — hasty

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