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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: branch · nail · club · cell · bear · mine · capital · spring

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. spring — of water
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. club — a group
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. club — for golf
  18. cell — in biology
  19. capital — a city
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. club — for dancing
  24. capital — money

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