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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. row — a line
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. cold — an illness
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bulb — for light
  16. cold — not warm
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. row — to paddle
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bulb — for light
  22. scale — in music
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. cold — the Cold War

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