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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: mine · spring · jam · bat · mug · squash · track · branch

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. spring — the season
  4. track — a song
  5. branch — a division
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bat — the animal
  8. squash — the sport
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. track — to keep track
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mug — a face
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. track — a path
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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