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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: file · branch · bat · field · spring · chip · bowl · season

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. field — farmland
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. season — of the year
  15. field — for sport
  16. spring — a coil
  17. file — a tool
  18. chip — to eat
  19. bat — the animal
  20. field — a subject
  21. season — in sport
  22. branch — a division
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. file — a document

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