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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: branch · cold · spring · bark · perch · swing · nail · mark

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. swing — in golf
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — not warm
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. perch — the fish
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. swing — music
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. cold — an illness
  20. spring — a coil
  21. mark — a trace
  22. swing — to play on
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. perch — for a bird

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