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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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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 · hand · mate · bay · trunk · sharp · spring · race

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. mate — to breed
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. mate — a partner
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. spring — a coil
  10. race — the arms race
  11. hand — help
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. sharp — clever
  15. race — a contest
  16. spring — of water
  17. race — humankind
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. mate — a friend
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. spring — the season
  24. branch — a division

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