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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: fan · wound · spring · temple · branch · straw · track · vault

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. track — a path
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. spring — of water
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. spring — the season
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. track — a song
  20. track — to keep track
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. branch — a division
  23. wound — an injury
  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