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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. game — a match
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. fork — in a road
  11. rest — what's left
  12. tear — from crying
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. cold — an illness
  16. tear — from crying
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. rest — what's left
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. rest — a break
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. game — wild animals

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