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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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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: straw · branch · mine · spring · rest · bowl · snap · pit

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  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. branch — of a bank
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pit — a hole
  6. mine — for digging
  7. branch — a division
  8. snap — to click
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rest — what's left
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pit — in a race
  23. rest — a break
  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