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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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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: club · bore · fan · snap · branch · ruler · spring · wind

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. club — for golf
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — a division
  5. bore — to drill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. snap — to click
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. spring — of water
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for dancing
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. spring — the season
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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