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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.

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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: spring · rule · date · snap · bound · branch · track · rest

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. track — to keep track
  3. snap — to click
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. spring — a coil
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bound — certain
  8. rule — government
  9. bound — obliged
  10. rest — what's left
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. bound — tied together
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. spring — the season
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rule — a law
  18. rest — a break
  19. track — a path
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. branch — a division
  22. date — the fruit
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. track — a song

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