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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 116 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. branch — a division
  5. cold — not warm
  6. spell — magic
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. spell — a short time
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. sharp — clever
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fall — the season
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. fall — to drop
  17. spell — letters
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cap — a hat
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cap — a lid

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