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

Word bank: ground · board · cell · branch · squash · wave · mate · mark

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. branch — a division
  3. squash — the sport
  4. board — a committee
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mark — a grade
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. mate — to breed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. cell — in biology
  18. mark — a trace
  19. cell — a phone
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. squash — to crush
  23. board — to get on
  24. ground — a position

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