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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: chest · spring · rash · branch · clip · mark · safe · stem

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — a division
  4. chest — a box
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. clip — for paper
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. clip — a video
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mark — a trace
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — the season
  21. mark — a grade
  22. rash — a series
  23. stem — to come from
  24. rash — hasty

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