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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: swing · shower · march · safe · branch · cell · spring · field

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. branch — a division
  3. spring — the season
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. march — music
  7. field — a subject
  8. swing — to play on
  9. spring — of water
  10. field — farmland
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. march — the month
  13. shower — to wash
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. swing — in golf
  16. shower — rain
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. march — the month
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. field — for sport
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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