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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: tear · branch · wound · spring · racket · court · swing · deal

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. court — of a king
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. swing — to play on
  8. court — of law
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. branch — a division
  11. swing — music
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. court — for sport
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spring — of water
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spring — the season
  19. swing — in golf
  20. spring — a coil
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. tear — from crying
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. wound — an injury

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