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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 116 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 · straw · wake · spring · branch · fall · tear · chip

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chip — for betting
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. fall — to drop
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. fall — the season
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. tear — to rip
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. chip — to eat
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. spring — the season

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