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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: branch · spring · snap · net · leaves · shower · chest · vault

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. shower — to wash
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spring — a coil
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. net — for catching
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. spring — of water
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. spring — the season
  15. snap — to click
  16. shower — rain
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. vault — a safe
  19. net — in sport
  20. branch — a division
  21. net — after costs
  22. chest — a box
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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