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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 · bay · branch · plane · cue · field · land · staff

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. cue — a signal
  3. spring — the season
  4. branch — a division
  5. spring — a coil
  6. field — for sport
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. spring — of water
  10. staff — a stick
  11. land — ground
  12. plane — a tool
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. cue — a hint
  15. field — farmland
  16. land — a country
  17. staff — employees
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. land — to come down
  20. cue — for pool
  21. field — a subject
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. staff — employees

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