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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: racket · spring · deal · branch · rash · wound · sharp · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. branch — a division
  3. spring — the season
  4. wound — an injury
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. deal — to handle
  7. rash — hasty
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wound — an injury
  10. sharp — clever
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mine — for digging
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. rash — a series
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rash — on the skin

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