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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
468
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 · chair · lean · branch · land · plane · pop · drill

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. drill — a practice
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. spring — a coil
  9. drill — army training
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. pop — to visit
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. lean — to bend
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. branch — a division
  19. lean — thin
  20. chair — a leader
  21. drill — the tool
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — soda
  24. branch — of a bank

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