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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. foot — a measure
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. board — a committee
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. row — a line
  16. cold — not warm
  17. kick — in football
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wound — an injury
  20. board — to get on
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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