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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tube · wave · chip · content · cold · branch · spell · bear

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. cold — not warm
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. cold — an illness
  12. chip — for betting
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. content — the amount
  15. bear — the animal
  16. tube — a container
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. content — happy
  20. bear — the animal
  21. spell — letters
  22. chip — to eat
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. spell — magic

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