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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. branch — a division
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. spell — letters
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bear — the animal
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bound — certain
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bear — the animal
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. spell — magic
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bound — tied together
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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