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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 · rush · pit · branch · bat · file · craft · chest

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a tool
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. chest — a box
  8. pit — a hole
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. craft — boats
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spring — of water
  15. branch — a division
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rush — hurry
  19. craft — a skill
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pit — in a race
  22. file — a line of people
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rush — a thrill

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