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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. file — a tool
  6. spell — magic
  7. swing — to play on
  8. snap — to click
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. spell — a short time
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. swing — music
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — to wash
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. branch — a division
  19. cell — a phone
  20. spell — letters
  21. cell — in biology
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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