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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: spring · board · branch · rock · roll · pop · shower · racket

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. board — to get on
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. pop — soda
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. roll — a list
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. pop — music
  10. spring — the season
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. board — a committee
  13. pop — to visit
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. spring — of water
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. branch — a division
  21. rock — music
  22. spring — a coil
  23. rock — a stone
  24. racket — a loud noise

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