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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: snap · fan · branch · calf · bark · straw · spring · root

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. snap — to click
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. root — the cause
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. root — of a word
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. spring — the season
  11. bark — to shout
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. branch — a division
  14. root — of a plant
  15. spring — a coil
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. spring — of water
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. straw — a straw man

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