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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. bound — certain
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bound — obliged
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — the earth
  14. branch — a division
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. ground — a position
  20. cold — an illness
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. stem — to come from
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stem — of a plant

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