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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: season · game · bear · wake · branch · net · spring · mine

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. net — for catching
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bear — the animal
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bear — the animal
  8. mine — for digging
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. spring — of water
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. season — in sport
  17. branch — a division
  18. spring — a coil
  19. season — of the year
  20. spring — the season
  21. wake — a trail
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. bear — to put up with

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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