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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: wave · swing · branch · snap · club · pound · pop · shower

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pound — a weight
  4. club — a group
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. shower — rain
  10. snap — to click
  11. swing — music
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pop — to visit
  17. branch — a division
  18. pop — soda
  19. shower — to wash
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. club — for golf
  23. swing — in golf
  24. pop — music

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