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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: bound · branch · wind · straw · mate · swing · spring · bear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. spring — of water
  3. swing — music
  4. spring — the season
  5. mate — a partner
  6. branch — a division
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bound — obliged
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bound — certain
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mate — a friend
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. mate — to breed
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bound — tied together

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