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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. spell — letters
  11. perch — the fish
  12. spring — of water
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. spell — a short time
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. spring — the season
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spell — magic

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