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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bear — the animal
  4. current — electric
  5. current — of water
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. current — happening now
  8. cold — an illness
  9. squash — to crush
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. spring — the season
  16. cold — not warm
  17. spring — a coil
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bear — the animal
  21. squash — the sport
  22. spring — of water
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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