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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 116 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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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: hand · racket · dip · branch · stem · spring · bulb · mine

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. spring — of water
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. stem — to come from
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. bulb — for light
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. branch — a division
  13. hand — help
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. dip — to sink
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. hand — in cards
  21. spring — the season
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bulb — for light
  24. racket — for tennis

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