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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 · stick · branch · spell · racket · plane · net · rash

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. spell — magic
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. spring — of water
  6. spell — a short time
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. spring — the season
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. net — after costs
  12. spell — letters
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. spring — a coil
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. net — for catching
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. rash — hasty
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — a division
  24. plane — in geometry

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