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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. bear — the animal
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bass — the fish
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. branch — a division
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bass — low music

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