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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bat · kid · branch · bulb · rash · spring · mark · cell

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. bulb — for light
  6. spring — the season
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. spring — of water
  18. cell — a phone
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bat — in an idiom

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