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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: bark · game · branch · wave · tear · swing · cap · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. game — a match
  3. cap — a lid
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — music
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wound — an injury
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. branch — a division
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. cap — of ice
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wave — of the sea

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