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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 116 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 · mate · branch · fan · content · dip · racket · squash

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. dip — to sink
  3. spring — the season
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. squash — to crush
  6. content — happy
  7. mate — a friend
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. spring — a coil
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. branch — a division
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. spring — of water
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. squash — the sport
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. mate — a partner
  22. content — the amount
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. dip — a sauce

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