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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 · dip · jam · cold · ground · branch · kick · roll

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. roll — a list
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. spring — the season
  5. dip — to sink
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. roll — a cake
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — the earth
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. spring — a coil
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. kick — in football
  18. spring — of water
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. branch — a division
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. branch — 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