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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 · bat · present · mine · branch · root · pitcher · plane

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  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. plane — a tool
  2. present — the time now
  3. root — of a word
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mine — for digging
  6. branch — a division
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. bat — the animal
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. spring — a coil
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. present — there
  16. present — a gift
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spring — of water
  19. root — the cause
  20. spring — the season
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. root — of a plant
  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