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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 120 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: mouse · branch · bark · rest · hand · sharp · wind · spring

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. wind — moving air
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. spring — of water
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. hand — help
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. sharp — clever
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. branch — a division
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. hand — in cards
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rest — a break
  23. spring — the season
  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