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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: foot · spell · bowl · spring · pitcher · rash · branch · snap

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — magic
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. rash — a series
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. rash — hasty
  11. spell — letters
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. branch — a division
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. foot — a measure
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. snap — to click
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. spring — of water

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