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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: spring · wound · snap · file · branch · bowl · rock · perch

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. file — a document
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. perch — the fish
  8. file — a line of people
  9. branch — a division
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — a coil
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rock — music
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. snap — to click
  18. spring — of water
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. file — a tool
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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