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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. ball — a great time
  3. spell — letters
  4. ground — crushed
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. spell — a short time
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. row — to paddle
  14. ground — a position
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ball — a dance
  18. branch — a division
  19. row — a line
  20. spell — magic
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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