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

Word bank: trunk · wave · squash · wind · cold · branch · object · bear

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. object — an aim
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. squash — to crush
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. branch — a division
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. object — a thing
  18. cold — not warm
  19. object — to protest
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cold — an illness

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