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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: spring · season · straw · branch · present · rule · chest · bulb

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. chest — of your body
  4. season — in sport
  5. spring — a coil
  6. present — a gift
  7. rule — a law
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. chest — a box
  10. present — the time now
  11. branch — a division
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. chest — of your body
  14. season — of the year
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bulb — for light
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. present — there
  21. rule — government
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. spring — of water

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