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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. branch — a division
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ground — crushed
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ground — the earth
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. snap — to click
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bank — of a river
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bank — for money
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. date — the fruit
  23. ground — a position
  24. bank — for money

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