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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.

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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: fan · spell · racket · branch · spring · pitcher · wake · field

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. field — farmland
  4. spell — letters
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. field — for sport
  7. wake — a trail
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. branch — a division
  10. spring — the season
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. spring — a coil
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. spell — a short time
  17. field — a subject
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. spell — magic
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. spring — of water
  24. pitcher — in baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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