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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. spring — of water
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. ground — the earth
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. branch — a division
  12. kick — in football
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ground — crushed
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. ground — a position
  17. game — wild animals
  18. spring — the season
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. rash — hasty
  21. prune — to trim
  22. game — a match
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rash — a series

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