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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 · cell · stock · roll · shower · arm · branch · kick

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — in football
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. stock — goods
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. spring — of water
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. stock — shares
  10. shower — to wash
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. branch — a division
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cell — in biology
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. roll — a cake
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. shower — rain
  19. cell — a phone
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. roll — a list
  23. spring — the season
  24. cell — in a prison

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