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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: temple · drill · branch · land · spell · wake · wound · swing

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spell — letters
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. spell — magic
  6. swing — music
  7. land — a country
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. spell — a short time
  10. swing — in golf
  11. land — to come down
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. branch — a division
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. drill — a practice
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wake — a trail
  19. drill — army training
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wound — an injury
  22. drill — the tool
  23. land — ground
  24. branch — of a bank

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