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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
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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: bowl · kid · pop · spring · content · squash · trunk · branch

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. spring — the season
  5. branch — a division
  6. spring — a coil
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. spring — of water
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pop — to visit
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. kid — child
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pop — music
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pop — soda
  21. kid — to tease
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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