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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: kid · branch · bulb · mark · bass · straw · fine · spring

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bass — low music
  6. spring — a coil
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. kid — child
  9. bass — the fish
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. mark — a trace
  13. branch — a division
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. spring — the season
  16. bulb — for light
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. bulb — for light
  23. spring — of water
  24. kid — to tease

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