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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 · saw · branch · clip · jam · shower · wound · charge

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. charge — a price
  5. wound — an injury
  6. clip — to cut
  7. branch — a division
  8. charge — in control
  9. spring — a coil
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — a video
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. shower — to wash
  17. clip — for paper
  18. saw — the tool
  19. charge — electricity
  20. wound — an injury
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. branch — of a tree

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