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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: spring · branch · net · pop · rule · squash · deal · land

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. rule — government
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. pop — soda
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. net — for catching
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. pop — to visit
  14. spring — a coil
  15. pop — music
  16. deal — to handle
  17. branch — a division
  18. net — after costs
  19. squash — to crush
  20. land — a country
  21. squash — the sport
  22. rule — a law
  23. net — in sport
  24. branch — of a tree

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