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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: spring · plane · branch · kid · last · bear · ground · dip

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. ground — the earth
  3. last — to go on
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. bear — the animal
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. spring — of water
  11. plane — a tool
  12. kid — to tease
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. last — finally
  15. spring — the season
  16. ground — crushed
  17. kid — child
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. bear — the animal
  20. last — final
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. spring — a coil
  23. ground — a position
  24. dip — to sink

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