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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wound — an injury
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. present — there
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. track — a path
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. track — to keep track
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. present — the time now
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. track — a song
  16. mark — a grade
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. branch — a division
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a trace
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. row — a line

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