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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rest — a break
  4. chest — a box
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. spell — magic
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. pit — in a race
  11. spell — a short time
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. spell — letters
  16. pit — a hole
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. branch — a division
  23. rest — what's left
  24. spring — the season

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