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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 120 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: stand · wound · branch · spring · bulb · net · hand · wake

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. branch — a division
  3. net — in sport
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bulb — for light
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. stand — to bear
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. net — after costs
  13. hand — help
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wound — an injury
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. spring — the season
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hand — in cards
  20. spring — of water
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. stand — on your feet

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