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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.

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: stick · cold · content · ground · wound · branch · leaves · spring

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. spring — a coil
  6. branch — a division
  7. ground — crushed
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. ground — a position
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — happy
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. ground — the earth
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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