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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 · snap · bear · sharp · pop · face · fall · branch

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. spring — of water
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. branch — a division
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. snap — to click
  15. pop — soda
  16. spring — a coil
  17. sharp — clever
  18. spring — the season
  19. fall — the season
  20. face — part of the head
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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