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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 · bore · calf · branch · ball · swing · fan · lie

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. swing — to play on
  6. ball — a great time
  7. swing — in golf
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. ball — a dance
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. spring — the season
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. swing — music
  15. lie — to recline
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bore — to tire
  22. branch — a division
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bore — to drill

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