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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: straw · jam · temple · branch · march · spring · bark · wound

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. march — the month
  3. spring — a coil
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. march — the month
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wound — an injury
  13. spring — the season
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spring — of water
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. march — music
  21. branch — a division
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — to shout
  24. temple — side of the head

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