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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: mate · spring · saw · firm · wound · kid · chip · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. branch — a division
  7. kid — child
  8. saw — the tool
  9. spring — a coil
  10. chip — to eat
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chip — for betting
  14. kid — to tease
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. firm — steady
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. firm — a company
  21. mate — a friend
  22. saw — the tool
  23. firm — decided
  24. chip — in a computer

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