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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 116 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. spring — of water
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. spring — the season
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. cold — not warm
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. spring — a coil
  19. branch — a division
  20. kick — in football
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cold — an illness
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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