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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 120 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: ball · bat · spring · fan · cue · saw · branch · row

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. spring — the season
  7. saw — the tool
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bat — the animal
  10. row — a line
  11. saw — the tool
  12. ball — a dance
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cue — a signal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ball — a great time
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. branch — a division
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cue — a hint
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. cue — for pool

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