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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. branch — a division
  8. capital — money
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bat — the animal
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rash — a series
  14. capital — a city
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. kid — child
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. branch — of a bank

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