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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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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 · lash · sharp · bulb · snap · branch · swing · net

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. swing — to play on
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bulb — for light
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bulb — for light
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. net — for catching
  17. sharp — clever
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. spring — of water
  21. swing — in golf
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. net — after costs
  24. swing — music

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