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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 120 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: chair · kid · bark · season · spring · drill · temple · branch

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. branch — a division
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. drill — a practice
  10. chair — a leader
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. spring — a coil
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. spring — the season
  16. bark — to shout
  17. season — in sport
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. spring — of water
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. chair — to sit on

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