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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 120 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: shower · fine · deal · mine · saw · field · spring · branch

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. field — farmland
  7. spring — the season
  8. fine — all right
  9. branch — a division
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. spring — of water
  17. shower — rain
  18. deal — to handle
  19. mine — for digging
  20. saw — the tool
  21. spring — a coil
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. shower — to wash
  24. saw — the tool

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