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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: branch · straw · spring · pound · safe · wind · pop · bat

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. bat — the animal
  4. spring — of water
  5. pop — soda
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. spring — the season
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pound — a weight
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. pop — music
  23. branch — a division
  24. pop — to visit

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