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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: object · cap · kick · spring · tear · branch · hand · pitcher

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cap — a lid
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. object — a thing
  7. cap — of ice
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. branch — a division
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cap — a hat
  15. tear — to rip
  16. hand — help
  17. object — an aim
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. object — to protest
  24. branch — of a bank

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