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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pop — to visit
  11. branch — a division
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. pop — soda
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wound — an injury
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. pop — music
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bat — for baseball

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