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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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468
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: fall · pop · branch · pit · mine · fork · spring · straw

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. spring — a coil
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. branch — a division
  7. pop — soda
  8. fall — the season
  9. mine — for digging
  10. spring — of water
  11. fork — in a road
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pop — to visit
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pit — in a race
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. pop — music
  22. fall — to drop
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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