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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 116 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 · bark · dip · snap · cold · current · leaves · branch

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. current — happening now
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. spring — the season
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. branch — a division
  7. dip — to sink
  8. current — electric
  9. spring — of water
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cold — not warm
  14. snap — to click
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. cold — an illness
  18. current — of water
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. spring — a coil
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. bark — to shout

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