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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 · mug · trunk · row · branch · straw · kid · stand

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. mug — to rob
  3. stand — to bear
  4. mug — a cup
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. mug — a face
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. branch — a division
  9. spring — of water
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. spring — the season
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. trunk — of a tree

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