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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 120 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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. cold — not warm
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mug — to rob
  10. board — to get on
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mug — a cup
  13. net — in sport
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. mug — a face
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — a division
  21. pound — a weight
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. board — a committee

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