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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 · bear · lash · trunk · clip · bulb · fan · branch

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spring — of water
  3. clip — for paper
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. spring — the season
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. bulb — for light
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bear — the animal
  22. branch — a division
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. bear — the animal

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